And 16-year-old Heather Lawson is part of it, too. She and her father have settled on Willow Acres, a land grant along the Hudson River from King Charles of England. But someone doesn't want them there. Is it their mysterious neighbor, Lord Downing, whose handsome, arrogant son Michael is painting Heather's portrait? Is it laughing, blond Jan Van Ryswyk, a Dutch riverboatman who says he loves Heather and wants to marry her? On the night Lord Downing holds a formal ball, Willow Acres' crops are destroyed by fire. All the evidence seems to point to Jan and the Dutch, but Heather is not so sure. If she is wrong, it could cost her the one she loves. If she is right, it could cost her her life! Set during the beginning of New York City. (#24) Gabrielle by Mary Francis Shura She's a showboat star. Will she have to give it up for love? Sixteen-year-old Gabrielle Prentice is practicing a new tightrope act for her father's showboat on the banks of the Mississippi River when she falls into the arms of a handsome young farmer - and in love. She soon finds that being in love with David Wesley isn't easy. Mrs. Wesley, his mother, looks down on showboat people, and showboat people, especially the talented, aloof Stephen Dubois, do not think much of farmers. But Gabrielle is determined to pursue her dream of life on land. She convinces her father to let her accept the invitation grudgingly extended by Mrs. Wesley to spend a week on the family farm. Life on the farm is not what Gabrielle had imagined. David is different, too. Has Gabrielle been dreaming of the wrong love? And is she ready to face what she really wants? Set in 1880 on a Mississippi showboat. (#25) Merrie by Vivian Schurfranz It will take everything she has to survive the first year at Plymouth Colony Stowing away aboard the Mayflower to escape an arranged marriage, sixteen-year-old Merrie Courtland receives no welcome on the Pilgrim ship. Luke Bosworth, the dashing young sailor who finds her, believes she is nothing but a dishonest stowaway. Her sole friend is the doctor's handsome young assistant, Zachariah Gaines. Merrie must be brave and resourceful to make it through the harsh, lonely first winter at Plymouth Colony. But can she persuade the Pilgrims to accept her? Luke wants Merrie to return to England