Told in two voices, Jules, whose father is restoring an abandoned house, and a girl who lived there a century before begin to communicate and slowly, the girl's tragic story is revealed.

When twelve-year-old Frederick "Red" Porter's father dies in 1972, his mother wants to sell their automobile repair shop and move her two sons back to Ohio, but Red's desperate to stop the sale even if it means unearthing some dark family secrets in a Virginia rife with racial tensions.

Ten-year-old Piper moves yet again when her father, who is a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy, gets assigned to Norfolk, Virginia, and although the move takes a bit of adjustment, she soon makes friends with the girl next door and catches up with old friends too.

When Skye's cousin Hiroshi and his family move to Virginia from Japan, the cultural differences lead to misunderstandings and both children are unhappy at the changes in their lives--will flying the dragon kite finally bring them together?

Callie struggles to understand slavery when her stepbrother is sold away at the start of the Civil War, but is determined her whole family will be free one day. Includes historical notes.

From the whippoorwill's call on the first day of spring through the first snowfall, Edna and members of her family gather fruits, berries, and vegetables from the fields, garden, and orchard on their Virginia farm and turn them into wonderful meals. Includes facts about the life of Edna Lewis, a descendant of slaves who grew up to be a famous chef, and five recipes.

In a small, Virginia town, sixth-grader Jessie Lou Ferguson has a crush on the hugely popular Conrad Parker Smith, and when he suddenly develops a medical problem and the teacher asks Jessie Lou to help him, they become friends, to her surprise.