Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.

Josh and his mom are escaping a crisis back home when they fly across the country to stay with their cousins in California. It's a strange time for Josh. But he and his cousin Holly become fast friends as they explore the huge forest surrounding Holly's house. Then one day the cousins find themselves in the path of a fast-moving firestorm, a super-heated monster that will soon destroy millions of acres of wilderness and possibly much more. Josh...

Sixteen-year-old Angie finds herself in her neighborhood with no recollection of her abduction or the three years that have passed since, until alternate personalities start telling her their stories through letters and recordings.

Lena, almost sixteen, has always felt drawn to the waters of San Francisco Bay despite the fears of her father, a former surfer, but after she glimpses a beautiful woman with a tail, nothing can keep Lena from seeking the mermaid in the dangerous waves at Magic Crescent Cove.

On her family's California horse ranch in the 1960s, eighth-grader Abby Lovitt faces the possibility of giving up her beloved colt, Jack, when it comes to light that his dam might have been stolen.

When fourteen-year-old Leigh's father buys a graveyard and insists she work there after school, she learns much about life, death, and the power of friendship.

Through a series of letters, Sophie Brown, age twelve, tells of her family's move to her Great Uncle Jim's farm, where she begins taking care of some unusual chickens with help from neighbors and friends.

"Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she's known. She's a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself--and about the humans who hope to save her"--

Twelve-year-old David and his family search for their kidnapped mother in the many different time period portals of their home, but when a stranger appears and tries to force them to sell the house, their desperation reaches new heights.

The residents of Hard Pan, California, come together to help Brigitte and Lucky when the County Health Department threatens to close down the cafae, and meantime Miles's life is complicated by his mother's return.