Upon moving to Franklin Grove, eighth-grader Olivia Abbott, a pink-loving cheerleader, learns that she has a twin sister, Ivy Vega, whose "goth" appearance hides a weird secret.
Eleven-year-old Rex and his family move to Ottawa from Vancouver in the summer of 1962 when it seems everyone is nervous about the possibility of nuclear war between America and Russia, but his thoughts about the possible end of the world take second place to the mystery creature hiding out in the local park.
In 1963, when his family moves across town to a new school district in Ottawa, Canada, twelve-year-old Rex conspires with best friends James, Kathy, and Buster to attend the school in his old neighborhood.
Sixth-grader Yuzi, trying hard to fit in at a new school, is traumatized by being asked to dress as a stalk of corn in the town's annual Popcorn Festival and soon finds herself in after-school detention, where she meets three other girls who join her in forming the "Secret Keeper Girl Club." Includes a mother/daughter Girl Gab assignment.
Ten-year-old August Brown adjusts to his new home in Washington, D.C., with the help of the seven children of Pineapple Place, invisible to everyone but him.
Twelve-year-old Lars Olafson's move to his great-aunt's farm near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, brings him friendship with the ghost of an eighteenth-century ancestor who recounts his adventures during the American Revolution, helping Lars adjust to his new home and playing a part in the search for a missing will.
When Jonathan's family buys Laurel's house, this Jewish boy and Chinese-American girl gradually become friends as they deal with ancestral spirits and changing family relationships.
