This book chronicles the adventures of a boy and his grandpa, both of whom have a fondness for monster trucks, man-eating vehicles, and all things silly.
When her twin sister begins to assert her individuality and her grandmother suddenly dies, thirteen-year-old Dezzey finds some comfort in her relationships with her grandfather and a new friend and in an interest in the environment.
With her father serving in the Korean War and her mother working, Casey spends her 12th summer visiting her grandparents in their small town where she makes friends with a 33-year-old man with the mind of a 12-year-old.
After she switches schools in the middle of the year and goes to stay with her grandparents, eleven-year-old Jeremy's life is further disrupted when her parents announce from overseas that they are adopting a new baby sister for her.
Anastasia's 10th year has some good things like falling in love and really getting to know her grandmother and some bad things like finding out about an impending baby brother.
While spending Christmas at their grandparents' farm, Lily becomes convinced that her younger brother Liam is right about White Cow being lonely and helps him seek a companion for the cow, leaving little time for Christmas preparations or reading.
After her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother's route. Along the way, Sal recounts the story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left.