Mary Smith is a clumsy girl with wild red hair who can't seem to do anything right. After moving in with her Great Aunt Charlotte, Mary finds herself lonely and bored, until one day she spies a cat which seems to keep changing color every time she sees it. Curiosity gets the better of her and she follows it into nearby woods. Deep in the forest, the cat takes her to a clearing with dead trees and brown grass, where the only sign of life is a cluster of mysterious blue flowers that Mary has never seen before. The gardener of the estate later tells her that the rare species is called "Fly-by-Night," and is said to be sought by witches for its incredible magical power. When the strange cat returns to her one night, Mary is led once again into the woods, but this time to an old broomstick hidden by a gnarled tree. After she clumsily squashes some Fly-by-Night against the broomstick, it begins to glow, whisking her off into the sky. Her wayward journey ends at the Endor College for Witches, where she is mistaken for a new student. And so, Mary must learn to look after herself in this marvelous new world of magic, where things are not always as they seem.

In an alternate timeline, the world has seemingly achieved peace. Bereft of international conflicts, wars are now waged between private corporations in place of peaceful nations. Yuuichi Kannami, a recent transfer in Area 262, simply does his job as a contracted fighter pilot. However, the more time he spends at his new base, the more mysteries come to light. The Sky Crawlers exhibits this reality through the eyes of Kannami as he endeavors to understand the "Kildren," humans genetically altered to be teenagers forever with faster reflexes, and his predecessor, the ace pilot known as "Teacher." However, what troubles Kannami the most is how all this connects to the base commander, Suito Kusanagi. Area 262 has the answers, but the truth comes with a price the young pilot may not be ready to pay.

In a tranquil neighborhood of Tokyo, seven students are avoiding going to school—hiding in their darkened bedrooms, unable to face their family and friends—until the moment they find the mirrors in their bedrooms are shining. At a single touch, they are pulled from their lonely lives into a wondrous castle straight out of a Grimm's fairy tale. This whimsical place, oddly lacking in food and running water but full of electrical sockets, is home to a petulant girl in a mask, named Wolf Queen and becomes their playground and refuge during school hours. Hidden within the walls, they're told there's a key that will grant one wish, as well as a set of clues to find it. But there's a catch: the key must be found by the end of the school year and they must leave the premises by five o'clock each day or else suffer a fatal end. As time passes, a devastating truth emerges: only those brave enough to share their stories will be saved. And so they begin to unlock each other's stories: how a boy is showered with more gadgets than love; how another suffers a painful and unexplained rejection, and how a girl lives in fear of her predatory stepfather. As they struggle to abide by the rules of the game, a moving story unfolds, of seven characters trapped in a cycle of misunderstanding and loneliness, who are ultimately set free by the power of friendship, empathy, and sacrifice. (Source: Erewhon Books, edited)