"When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances "Frankie" McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps...

Young conservationist Chang overcomes the odds to save and return an elephant to its natural habitat.

"For Huong, life in Saigon, Vietnam is mostly normal-at least, as normal as it can be while a war is going on. But when her family decides to take the last flight out of the country to build a new life in America, Huong worries about missing her home. Through new friends and old traditions, Huong learns that no matter where we go, the smell of home and the taste of love can be found anywhere, as long as we have our family"--