Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica--and decades later three children, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California find themselves caught up in the same thread of destiny in the darkest days of the twentieth century, struggling to keep their families intact, and tied together by the music of the same harmonica.

"Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite...

1875. Kathryn Walsh arrives in tiny Calvada, a mining town nestled in the Sierra Nevadas. Banished from Boston by her wealthy stepfather, she has come to claim an inheritance from the uncle she never knew: a defunct newspaper office on a main street overflowing with brothels and saloons, and a seemingly worthless mine. Moved by the oppression of the local miners and their families, Kathryn decides to relaunch her uncle's newspaper-- and finds herself...

Young, vivacious Eliza Sommers follows her lover to California during the Gold Rush of 1849--a danger-filled quest that will become a momentous journey of transformation.

In 1970s northern California, fifteen-year-old RJ Armante must fight to save himself and his disabled brother from the Blackjacks gang, and free his hometown, Arcangel, from its past.

Earning money to help his family in 1906, ten-year-old newsboy Leo explores the hilly city's bustling business world and modern innovations before a massive earthquake and decimating fire change everything he has ever known.

When eighth grader Abby Lovitt looks out at those pure-gold rolling hills, she knows there’s no place she’d rather be than her family’s ranch—even with all the hard work of tending to nine horses. But some chores are no work at all, like grooming young Jack. At eight months, his rough foal coat has shed out, leaving a smooth, rich silk, like chocolate. As for Black George, such a good horse, it turns out he’s a natural...

"The Gold Rush was a major event in the US during the 1800s. This book explores what the Gold Rush was and the lesser-known people who participated in the event"--

Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.

Penny is a blue-eyed palomino paint mare with a taste for adventure! She and a boy named Jesse search for gold in Northern California. After striking it rich and then losing everything, Jesse and Penny join the Pony Express. The job is a tough one, but Penny loves a challenge! Here is Penny's story...in her own words.