Cottonwood 's novels for younger readers have been commended by educators for their content and tone and by youngsters for their plot and characters : '' Quake ! '' about the 1989 World Series earthquake ; '' The San Puerco Trilogy '' of novels about three scrappy boys in the small town of San Puerco , California ( which bears a remarkable resemblance to La Honda , California ) ; and the most recent , '' Four Dog Riot '' , published in 2011
World Series earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Joe Cottonwood