Twelve-year-old Mokes is torn between obeying his father, the police chief in the small town of Kailua, Hawaii, and being with his friends who plan to go see a fight between an island boy and a sailor.
Working for his stepfather on a charter fishing boat in Hawaii teaches thirteen-year-old Mikey about fishing, and about taking risks, making sacrifices, and facing some of life's difficult choices.
Eleven Boy Scouts, their leaders, and some new friends camping at Halape, Hawaii, in 1975, find their survival skills put to the test when a massive earthquake strikes, followed by a tsunami.
Over a year after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and the arrest of Tomi's father and grandfather, Tomi and his friends, battling anti-Japanese-American sentiment in Hawaii, try to find a way to salvage his father's sunken fishing boat.
Fourth-grader Cal learns a lot about teasing and standing up for others when a weird new student joins his class, while Stella, the tenth-grader who lives with Cal's family to help his mother, practices for her driving test.
Fourth-grader Calvin creates a unique way to express his desire for a dog after his teacher asks him to write a persuasive argument about something he really wants.
Nine-year-old Calvin catches the attention of the school bully on the day before he starts fourth grade, while at home, the unfriendly, fifteen-year-old daughter of his mother's best friend has taken over his room.
