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...

Katie misses school while she is home with the flu.

When her class celebrates Valentine's Day, Katie does not get a valentine from anyone.

"After years of hard work, Mia Tang finally gets to go on vacation with her family--to China! A total dream come true. Mia can't wait to see all her cousins and grandparents again, especially her cousin Shen. As she roams around Beijing, witnessing some of the big changes China's going through, Mia thinks about the changes in her own life, like . . . 1. Lupe's taking classes at the high school! And Mia's own plans to be a big writer are . . . stuck....

Katie is the only one in her class who has not lost a tooth, but despite all of her efforts, her wiggly tooth refuses to come out.

When heavy rain causes flooding, Katie Woo and her parents spend the night in a shelter.

In 1870, Reconstruction brings big changes to the Louisiana sugar plantation where spunky ten-year-old Sugar has always lived, including changes to her friendship with Billy, the son of her former master, and the arrival of workmen from China.

When Katie Woo and her friends go to the beach, Katie is so rude and bossy that her friends do not want to play with her.

The class bully loves to tease Katie Woo until she decides to ignore him.

Katie Woo learns different ways to cope with the death of her dog.