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Trapped in a small car on a college road trip, a 17-year-old girl and her mother come to the end of a 21-hour audiobook of “The Grapes of Wrath.” Asked to sit with what she’s heard, the girl laments, “I wish I could live through something.” Of course, she is, and she will. And her mother will be there, watching and fretting, as she does.

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CalMatters is a Sacramento-based nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. It works with more than 130 media partners throughout the state that have long, deep relationships with their local audiences, including Embarcadero Media.