Author Henry B. chose the first line “Nobody knew how the dog got into the school” and created a fascinating and funny nine-part mystery story. A group of friends work with Henry Revilo, fellow student and brilliant detective, to find out who let the dog into their school and why. The gang hunts down clues between going to classes. They end up solving the mystery–the dog is an alien in disguise! They learn that the aliens of the planet Zordberg are using one of the school’s classrooms as an alien base until they can safely return to their home planet. But while many questions are answered, others remain. Henry ends his story with the group of students planning to do further investigating the next day at lunch.

In her realistic story starting with the first line “It's never easy being the new kid,” finalist Ava A. introduces Jason, a student with a history of pranks and suspensions. Jason has changed, though, and is looking forward to staying out of trouble at his new school. But he has a run-in with the school bully on the very first day and soon gets blamed for an especially gross prank known as the “Vomit Volcano.” While being suspended by the school and grounded by his parents, Jason tries to figure out who really did the prank. All clues point to the school bully until Jason discovers that his brother, Mattie, is responsible. Mattie hoped to punish the bully by framing him–creating fake clues that would make the bully look guilty. After the truth is revealed, Jason is finally able to make friends and enjoy his new school.