The Glass Inheritance

Samantha's grandmother dies, leaving her an unusual inheritance: a clear, glass plate and a letter. The letter tells Samantha that she has one month in which to solve a mystery to find the rest of her inheritance. The plate is her first clue. Samantha soon tracks down another plate and learns that the two plates were made during The Depression, the time when her grandmother grew up. Before she can hunt for more information, a friend of her spoiled, younger brother breaks one of the plates--and when Samantha responds by breaking one of her brother's toy statues, she is grounded. Furious at her brother, Samantha vows never to speak to him again. When the grounding period is over, Samantha must hurry to discover more about the mystery and learns more about The Great Depression and World War II. She also uncovers a troubling secret. Grandmother had been engaged to a German active in the German-American Bund, a pro-Nazi group in America. Samantha reveals this secret to her mother, who responds by ordering Samantha to baby-sit her brother for the rest of the summer.