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

Nine-year-old Estella Garcia dreams of being a movie star when she grows up, but she is nervous about attending her very first sleepover party at the home of the new fourth-grader, Brittany, especially as the theme is "art," which is not really her thing--so she turns to her three best friends, The Worry Warriors, to help her overcome her anxiety.

In the three years since her father caught her in the back seat of a car with an older boy, sixteen-year-old Deanna's life at home and school has been a nightmare, but while dreaming of escaping with her brother and his family, she discovers the power of forgiveness.

An award-winning, thoughtful, and moving glimpse into life during the Depression Cat is the fastest kid at her school-and with Play Day is coming up soon, she will be able to show off her speed to everybody. Unfortunately, her old-fashioned father forbids her to wear pants, even while playing sports. So Cat refuses to race, and Zane, an Okie boy whose family works on a nearby farm, wins. Cat is furious that Zane is so fast, and angry that he was able...

While living very different lives on opposite coasts, seventeen-year-old Elizabeth and eighteen-year-old Lauren become acquainted by email the summer before they begin rooming together as freshmen at UC-Berkeley.

When Bobby inadvertently gets into a fight with his best friend Holly, their disagreement develops into a boys versus girls war involving their whole fourth-grade class.

A pariah in his town and home for the results of his risk-taking behavior, eighteen-year-old Jake seeks adrenaline rushes to clear his dark thoughts, but when Salome, the girl he loves, gets caught up in taking chances, too, the consequences are devastating.

As Summer Director, Poppi, nineteen, is charged with trying to save Eden, a Christian summer camp in southern California, despite her weak faith and distracting new romance.

Andy and Glory, two fifteen-year-olds from Ocean Beach, California, pursue their respective dreams of becoming a famous musician and a professional softball player.

"Dust Bowl refugee Gloria Mae Willard finds herself uprooted and working on a California peach orchard, where she tries to join the secret, all-boys baseball team that she's desperate to play on."--