The One and Only Ivan is one of the most touching books I have ever read. Ivan is a kind gorilla who is stuck in a cage at a mall/video game center. Ivan had a friend with him named Stella the elephant. Sadly, she died and made Ivan promise to take care of Ruby (the new baby elephant who ended up at the mall) After hearing stories from Stella and Ruby, he was aware of the harsh abuse the animals received and wanted Ruby to be in a safe home, away from the mall. Unlike most gorillas, Ivan is talented in art. He used finger paints to create a sign for the humans to put on the billboard near the mall. People saw the sign and protested. Eventually, Ruby and Ivan found a safe home at the zoo and Ivan found a mate and Ruby found a loving family. Ivan's promise to Stella was fulfilled.

In the beginning, Greg thinks that his life is actually a reality tv show (similar to The Truman Show) and gets paranoid as he thinks his family members are just actors. However, Rowley is the one who ends up to be famous by the end of the book because he got stuck in a tree and a news group decided to bring attention to him.

Greg's grandfather moved into the Heffley home because he could no longer pay the rent at Leisure Towers. However, grandpa bothers Greg to the point where he made the car end up in a ditch. Greg then decided to participate on the school trip to Hardscrabble Farms because he doesn't want to confront his dad on what happened to the car. However, Greg soon realized he made a bad decision because of the horrible food, unsanitary showers (from sweat) and the rumored farmer named Silas Scratch. By the end of the book, we find out that Silas Scratch is someone Greg's dad invented just so he could have to shack with the clean showers all to himself. Greg decides to go along with it and holds up a sign saying "Beware of Silas Scratch" on his way home.

Smile is a graphic novel about Raina's own life as a teenager. After Girl Scouts one day when she was eleven, Raina ran out of the car and she lost her two front teeth. She went through typically teenage problems such as acne and boys. Throughout the book, she had many struggles such as replacement teeth, braces, retainers, etc. She even went through an earthquake! However, she ended the book as a high school student and smiled because her teeth were fixed and everything seemed right.