Nine-year-old Rebecca Rubin, a Jewish girl living in New York in 1914, aspires to be an actress, despite her family's objection to it, and uses her acting skills to raise money to save her cousins in Russia from danger.
When Julie and Roland become an official couple, Lydia and Julie try to find romantic guidance, while Lydia's mother announced her plans to marry Lydia's soccer coach, Eric.
Dubbed a "reluctant reader" by his teacher, twelve-year-old Derek spends summer vacation learning important lessons even though he does not complete his summer reading list.
On a summer road trip with Papa Dad and Daddy after their first year of junior high, Julie and Lydia use their powers of observation to catalog each new location they visit, and confront the truths of family dynamics.
In Acton, Oregon, sisters Alex, Stevie, and Joey take turns telling about their lives, including auditioning for the same part in the school musical, baking contest-worthy cupcakes, and becoming obsessed with "Little Women.".
Seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood, stuck in Mrs. Baker's classroom during the 1967 school year while his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, learns much of value about the world in which he lives from the study of the plays of William Shakespeare.
The Christmas tree that Dad brings home is a little skimpy, but each family member has an idea for what will make it better, and Little Critter adds the crowning touch.
