This 4-novel omnibus begins with a book Publisher's Weekly termed "courageous, thought-provoking" and the Los Angeles Times called "suspenseful, sensitively written" in which Amelia Monet escapes from her father's home to begin a new life and identity in San Francisco, LIVING IN SECRET with her mother and her mother's girlfriend Janey. Meanwhile, in an entirely different part of The City, in THE SKIN OF WATER: DEFENDING THE DREAMCATCHERS, Lisel Martinez, a first nation teen, has left her New Mexico pueblo for a fresh start in California that will hopefully be better, safer than the life she's leaving behind. Yet is there a way for young people on their own to stay safe in a city that is anything but? Empowerment is nothing but a word...until you start living it. In ESOTERICA, the third book of this 4-novel combo edition, we rejoin characters from the first two books as Amelia -- older now and done putting up with safety issues of her own -- decides to take matters into her own hands. Her dad is a criminal, and criminals are supposed to be in jail, aren't they? Then in the final book, PARADISE FOUND, Amelia's battles to remove herself from an abusive parent's custody finally conclude. She's 16 and a half now; it's time to create a life of her own and perhaps a whole new way to live too. It's the 21st Century after all. A time of great change on Planet Earth. A time when girls can rock and rule! And high time for certain things about America, or maybe even the whole world, to improve. And with friends like Pipsqueak, Lisel, Rocky, Gabrielle, and the whole Esoterica apple farm crew, Amelia just might be able to help make that happen. No matter what kind of twists and turns your life has had, it's never too late to become a healthy, happy adult, right? GATHERING THE DREAMCATCHERS: a 4-novel adventure in intentional community, sovereignty, friendship, family, love, sexuality, radical activism...and all the magic in the world.
