What is the importance of Sonora, California in the novel, The You I’ve Never Known?

Sonora is a small, conservative town in California. Ariel and Dad settle in Sonora for a longer period than in any other town over the last fifteen years. Ariel likes Sonora, for she has friends and a social life at school. She hopes to at least be able to finish her junior year there before her father decides to move. Sonora is where Ariel saves Hillary’s life, and it is where Maya is able to track Ariel down through the press coverage.