A "moving, empathetic must-read about growing up and discovering what matters." —BookLife by Publishers Weekly Editor's Pick

Welcome to Bainbridge Avenue, where fourteen-year-old Vicki’s life takes a bumpy turn. She’s got a lot on her plate—sharing a cramped room with her siblings, worrying about her mom who can’t catch a break, and dreaming about a dad who’s nowhere to be found.

But things start to change when Vicki meets Rosa from Apartment 1A, who introduces her to the building’s basement, a hidden world full of forgotten stories and secrets waiting to be uncovered.

As Vicki sets out beyond her neighborhood, searching for her place in the world, she wonders if the imperfect family and friends she has on Bainbridge Avenue might just be the treasures she's been looking for all along. Join her on a journey of hope, heartache, and unexpected discoveries in Back to Bainbridge.

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“[An] accomplished work that packs a big emotional punch…” —Readers’ Favorite

“…emotively captures the struggles of a young teen as she tries to find a place that feels like home…” —IndieReader, IR Approved

Author Bio:

Norah Lally is a native New Yorker who cherishes many childhood memories of time spent in her grandmother’s Bedford Park neighborhood in the Bronx. She has numerous screenwriting credits, including the KidsFirst! Award-winning short film Danger Jane, PBS Kids series It’s Big Big World, and MGA Entertainment’s Bratz: Girls Really Rock. Back to Bainbridge is her first novel. Norah currently resides in Los Angeles, California with her husband, children, and the family Shih Tzu, Murphy.

2022 San Francisco Writer's Conference YA Fiction Writing Contest Winner

"Young Sparrow's dilemma had me wondering how she was going to make her way through such a tension-filled situation. I could almost see her growing up, finding unexpected allies, and using her mama's native skills as she faced the political firestorm of the 1840s in California." —Stephanie Foster, author of Take Action

In 1844, fifteen-year-old Sparrow fears what dilemmas her grown-up life will encounter. Sparrow's mother is from the Chumash nation whose territory borders the Pacific. Her father is an American trapper and trader sent by his government to explore the rich California land owned by Mexico.

Sparrow's difficulties are compounded when she learns her father also has an American wife and daughter. Then, she overhears him making plans to overthrow the Mexican Governor of Alta California and acquire the Mexican lands for the United States.

Sparrow's tribal family and indigenous customs are threatened. She must decide if she will keep her father's secret and lose her homeland, or warn her mother and the Mexican authorities but suffer the loss of her father's love.

Author Bio:

Dr. Perez Ferguson is a cross-cultural educator and consultant. Her fiction brings to life the voices of California inhabitants living 200 years ago. Her non-fiction promotes the voices of under-represented communities in the twenty-first century. This earned her the 2014 Lacayo Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. She is an Advisor and Former Chair for the InterAmerican Foundation and a Visiting Lecturer for the Council for Independent Colleges. She enjoys living and writing on the Pacific coast.

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2021 San Francisco Writers Conference Young Adult Writing Contest Winner

Alicia Ortega, a 14-year-old Mexican girl, struggles to protect her father's land when she and her older sisters are aggressively courted by land-hungry Yankees and rough-cut fur traders in the Spanish colony. It's up to Alicia, her sister Clara, and their Chumash friend Nina to shoulder the responsibility of caring for the Ortega home and business.

When Alicia's oldest sister is sent to finishing school in Texas for protection and refinement, the remaining younger sisters must run the rancho alone. Dangers on all sides begin to descend as the sisters are pursued by Yankee immigrant merchants and sailors hoping to cash in on rich lands and access to Pacific ports.

Alicia is trying her best to keep her family's home and business afloat and thankfully, her companion, Nina is there to help. But as an indigenous girl, Nina is valuable to traders, trappers, and surveyors for her knowledge of the Californian terrain and her network of tribal relations. However, she won't always be there to help Alicia's family, especially since she has problems of her own. The Franciscan Mission is pressuring her family to convert to Catholicism, a charming trader is courting her, and, worst of all, their tribal territory and tribal ways are vanishing.

The girls struggle to protect the Ortega family's land and black market dock from conniving suitors, but tough family secrets are threatening everything, and Alicia doesn't know if they'll be able to survive until her parents return.

Author Bio:

Dr. Perez Ferguson is a cross-cultural educator and consultant. Her fiction brings to life the voices of California inhabitants living 200 years ago. Her non-fiction promotes the voices of under-represented communities in the twenty-first century. This earned her the 2014 Lacayo Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. She is an Advisor and Former Chair for the InterAmerican Foundation and a Visiting Lecturer for the Council for Independent Colleges. She enjoys living and writing on the Pacific coast.

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"...a fast-paced novel that would keep a high school student reading." —SM Heacock, Retired Educator, Los Angeles Unified School District

In 1795, eighteen-year-old Salvador Tenorio and his best friend, Blas, embark upon the most adventurous journey of their lives, leaving their impoverished families and painful memories behind in Imperial Spain. On a quest to find adventure, the clever young Spaniard battles the demons of his past and religious uncertainty on an epic expedition to the New World.

Determined to make the best out of their challenging circumstances, they aspire to claw their way out of poverty. Sal and Blas discover more than they ever imagined as they witness the fragmented cultures of California's native people. Tangling with corrupted padres and escaping from ruthless pirates, they realize that all that glitters is not gold. Sal and Blas must quickly learn the rules of the sea and the new western frontier-or die trying. Can Sal handle his own twisted secrets and rise from the depths of his past while discovering his own purpose in life?

Author Bio:

Dr. Perez Ferguson is a cross-cultural educator and consultant. Her fiction brings to life the voices of California inhabitants living 200 years ago. Her non-fiction promotes the voices of under-represented communities in the twenty-first century. This earned her the 2014 Lacayo Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. She is an Advisor and Former Chair for the InterAmerican Foundation and a Visiting Lecturer for the Council for Independent Colleges. She enjoys living and writing on the Pacific coast.

Shop the Mission Bells Series