Bonita

1843. Bonita Kelly is twelve, and her future looks idyllic: A privileged life in an hacienda overlooking San Francisco Bay just across the water from Pre-Gold Rush San Francisco. Then her feisty willfulness destroys it all. She learns she’s the foundling daughter of a pair of rustlers killed by the “uncle” who “rescued” her. She refuses to accept the story that her parents were outlaws and runs off to find the truth. Her quest plunges her into a world of peril. She’s kidnapped. Beaten. Raped. Bears a daughter who is robbed from her. Amid a swirl of historic events—war, the gold rush, and the founding of California—Bonita transforms herself from a rebellious adolescent into a successful entrepreneur. Always she remains focused on answering two questions: Where is her stolen daughter? Were her parents criminals or not? Her discoveries create challenges surpassing all her previous conflicts, but she meets them with the originality and boldness of the extraordinary woman she’s become.