Ace and Monroe Trilogy

She's fifteen, and she hates her name. So, in 1970, Angelica Christine Elgin answers only to "Ace." The acronym suits her because she only does what she believes she will do well. She wants a boyfriend who likes adventure and is savvy and at least as smart as she is. Ace creates and hands out questionnaires designed to net her the perfect boy. She reviews the result and is more than a little bummed--until she meets Monroe Watson Monroe. He is nerdy and cute. He thinks she's brainy and loves that Ace seems a little nutso. Hello, success! He's the one! Ace shows Monroe a pair of glasses from her favorite antique shop. When she puts them on for the first time, it isn't long before the new partners see just how well the glasses fit.

Ace and Monroe are rising seniors in high school. At 17, they have already had a lifetime's worth of strange experiences. Now, their escapades become more complex. They visit the city to scope out new antique stores and see a movie. Their bus drops them near Goode's Old but Good. They have time for a quick look before the film starts. On the sidewalk outside the door, they spot a child's bracelet, Ace has a hunch it was dropped by a customer and hopes to return it. The owner of the antique store takes a look at the trinket and quickly assures them it is worthless. Ace looks Mrs. Hogan in the eye; the forbidding woman ignores her and invites Ace and Monroe out of her store. Ace slips the bracelet into her pocket. Somehow, she knows the junk jewelry is worth more than it seems. "We're going to find the owner of this thing, Monroe." Her declaration will turn the summer ahead upside down. What they discover changes many lives, including their own.