Kim Kuhteubl

Jaye Tyler, a recent Brown University graduate with a philosophy degree, holds a dead-end job as a sales clerk at a Niagara Falls gift shop. Jaye is the reluctant participant in conversations with various animal figurines — a wax lion, brass monkey, stuffed bear, and mounted fish, among others — which direct her via oblique instructions to help people in need.

Pelswick Eggert is just like most 13-year-olds, except that he is in a wheelchair -- or permanently seated as he prefers to call it. He doesn't let that stop him, though, as he deals with the usual obstacles that come with being a teenager.