The thirteen-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off.

With World War II looming and the lingering economic depression straining her family's finances, twelve-year-old Millie struggles to look for happiness in 1941 California. Determined to find peace along the beach, Millie discovers a new friend, even as she must contend with demands from her younger siblings, an annoying older relative who moves in with them, and the death of her beloved grandmother. Then the Pearl Harbor attack changes everything,...

In 1573, the crippled, scorned, and destitute Meggy Swann goes to London, where she meets her father, an impoverished alchemist, and eventually discovers that although her legs are bent and weak, she has many other strengths.

A twelve-year-old Polish American girl is boarded onto an orphan train in Chicago with fears about traveling to the West and a life of unpaid slavery.

In 1599 England, twelve-year-old lying, thieving Will Sparrow runs away, meets many colorful characters on the road, and then reluctantly joins a traveling "oddities" exhibit, where he learns to see beyond appearances.