Me, California Perkins

California Perkins, the twelve-year-old narrator of this rollicking tale, was named for the state she was born in. In fact, the Perkins family had lived in many states, for Mr. Perkins had an itchy foot. Still none of their experiences prepared them for the year they spent in the Mojave Desert. Mojaveville of 1882 was an appalling sight when the Perkins first saw it—a collection of run-down shacks and tents. California’s mother indignantly left her husband to the town’s bachelor quarters and set about bringing order to her existence and civilization to Mohaveville. California, however, was the one who really saved the day, for she at last succeeded in reuniting her parents.