pennsylvania

Twelve-year-old Cole's behavior causes his mother to drive him from Detroit to Philadelphia to live with a father he has never known, but who soon has Cole involved with a group of African-American "cowboys" who rescue horses and use them to steer youths away from drugs and gangs.

The author describes how he and his adopted twin sons, Dan and Noah, came to own and love a dog who was rescued after its owners used it as bait for fighting dogs and then left it in a cage to die.

Fourteen-year-old Matt, abused by her father, has spent years being shuffled around to relatives, and has worked hard to make herself invisible, but her life changes when she moves in with Sam and Jessica Fox, a Quaker couple who quickly make her feel safe, and who Matt feels compelled to stand up for when their anti-war sentiments and peace vigils come under attack in their Pennsylvania town.

After discovering that her father has multiple sclerosis, fifteen-year-old Payton begins counseling sessions at school, which lead her to become interested in a boy in her biology class, have a falling out with her best friend, develop an interest in bike riding, and eventually allow her to come to terms with life's uncertainties.

Phin Chase, an orphaned stable boy in Pennsylvania in the aftermath of the Civil War, must go on the run to save his life after accidentally witnessing the murder of a mine boss by a secret society of Irishmen known as the Sleepers.

Studies the economic decline of the anthracite region of northeastern Pennsylvania and discusses how the area's residents were affected by the closing of the mines, how the area survived, how the residents adapted, and other related topics.

Discusses Quaker leader and Pennsylvania founder William Penn, and his "holy experiment" in setting up a society based on freedom of religion and individual rights.

Eighteen-year-old Ned, having taken to hanging out at the barracks of state police Troop D in rural Pennsylvania after the death of his father, Trooper Curtis Wilcox, becomes obsessed with learning the truth about a 1954 Buick Roadmaster--apparently a conduit to the underworld--the squad has had secreted in a locked shed since 1979 when its owner mysteriously disappeared.

When her mother died in a fire, eight-year-old Jerri thought life couldn't get worse. She was wrong. Sent to live with people who didn't want her, Jerri was powerless to stop her once-happy childhood from becoming a nightmare of cruelty and neglect. Only a stubborn belief in her own worth and a fierce will to live allowed her to reach adulthood physically and emotionally intact. This is a book that will inspire not only those who have been orphans or foster children, but anyone who has known the pain of being unwanted. - Back cover.

Examines the lives of one football scholarship class at Pennsylvania State University over a five year period.