Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants--not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade...

"Layla Santos is the child of first-generation immigrants from India. Her parents run a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in San Francisco and are very traditional in their ways, including a firm belief in the benefit of arranged marriages. Her father, thinking he knows best, signs Layla up for IndianGirlMatch.com and sets up a series of dates without telling her.... Sam Mehta is the self-made CEO of a corporate consultancy specializing in downsizing....

In 1849 the impoverished Hornik family decides to leave Bohemia and emigrate to California in search of gold.

Both of sixteen-year-old Cammi's parents are stars in Mexico, but everything changes when her mother accepts a role in an American sitcom.

Suspecting foul play in the wake of her mother's accidental death, Margot Lee investigates her mother's past as a Korean War orphan and undocumented immigrant before uncovering profound secrets.

When Lily realizes she has feelings for a girl in her math class, it threatens Lily's oldest friendships and even her father's citizenship status and eventually, Lily must decide if owning her truth is worth everything she has ever known.

Twelve-year-old Ariana, a tomboy, and her ladylike cousin Laila, recently arrived from Afghanistan, do not get along but they pull together when a rival Afghani grocery store opens, rekindling an old family feud and threatening their family's livelihood.

"When we first meet Maria Lagana, she's rewriting scripts at Mercury Pictures, a failing Hollywood studio known for its schlock. Maria's job is to re-craft dialogue and action to circumvent the censors, a skill she's mysteriously adept at. Born in Italy, as a teenager Maria witnessed Mussolini's censors arrest her father, an event that will destroy her family and burden Maria with questions of guilt and responsibility she will carry with her throughout...

A turn-of-the-twentieth-century discovery of ancient jade artifacts on California's Monterey Peninsula by a Stanford marine biology professor is marked by violent debates and a tragic accident.

"Mia Tang is at the top of her game! She's spending winter break with Mom, Lupe, Jason, and Hank in San Francisco's Chinatown! Rich with history and hilarious aunties and uncles, it's the place to find a great story--one she hopes to publish while attending journalism camp at the Tribune. But this trip has as many bumps as the hills of San Francisco... 1. Mia's camp is full of older kids, with famous relatives, fancy laptops, and major connections!...