In 1962 Chip Carter, son of a guard at Alcatraz, stumbles on to an escape plan and finds himself forced to aid the prisoners, because he is afraid that his father is somehow involved in the plot--and he needs to find out the truth.
Sixth-grader Annabelle spends autumn coping with competing groups of friends at school, her mother's pre-wedding stress, learning to get along with a cute stepbrother-to-be, and such momentous events as wearing her first bra and learning to shave her legs.
Fifteen-year-old Ash has never felt like they fit in, and the only person who ever really understood them was their Grandpa Edwin, but ever since his death, things have only gotten worse. Their parents haven't fully accepted their name change and newly shorn hair, and Ash is deeply concerned about the climate crisis that no one else seems to care about. So when Ash learns their family is planning on selling Grandpa Edwin's old ranch, they come up with a plan to find Grandpa's secret cabin in the woods and stay there forever. With their dog, Chase, Ash sets out into the California wilderness to find the cabin and learns to live off the land, but when a wildfire threatens their safety, Ash must make an impossible decision.
Abbey Chandler is worried about the small shops in Hideaway Grove that are struggling financially, especially her aunt Sarah's bakery. When the wife of a rich businessman opens a competing bakery--and is murdered--Aunt Sarah is the prime suspect. Now a big women's conference might be cancelled because of the crime and the businesspeople are worried. Abbey sets out to prove her aunt's innocence and find the killer before the whole town goes under.
Explores the geography, history, culture, and economics of the state of California. Includes audio, videos, activities, weblinks, slideshows, transparencies, maps, quizzes, and supplementary resources.
Jemima Jones, nearly one hundred pounds overweight and in love with a man she believes she can never have, meets a California hunk on the Internet, introducing herself as JJ, a slim, beautiful, glamour girl; but when her online love demands to meet her in person, Jemima knows it is time to take action.
When the Depression hits in Cairo, Illinois, and Oscar Ogilvie's father must sell their home and vast model train set-up to look for work in California, eleven-year-old Oscar is left with his dour aunt, where he befriends a mysterious drifter, witnesses a stunning bank robbery, and is suddenly catapulted onto a train that takes him to a different time and place.
In San Jose, California, in the 1990s, teenaged Sara keeps a diary of life as an Iranian American and her discovery that she and her family entered as undocumented immigrants.
