Growing Down is a richly told tale of early settlement in Alaska, a re-creation of pioneering life in the 1930's and 1940's, as seen through the eyes of young Annie, a girl growing up in a family of ten children in the Matanuska Valley. Kavasharov vividly describes Annie's life and the landscape of Southcentral Alaska; the labors of homestead life, the sting of discrimination against an Aleut mother and her children, the wonder of a northern sky crowded with stars and dazzling displays of the Aurora Borealis, the excitement of finding the first bluebells of spring after a long, cold winter. Set against the stunning backdrop of Alaska, Growing Down is about the human spirit that perseveres in Annie as she faces loss and hardship. Guided by wisdom learned from parents and older siblings whom she loses far too early, bolstered by strong bonds with her younger siblings, Annie learns the skills and insight she needs to grow down into a changing world.