Natalie, who lives in the large hotel managed by her father, has a dangerous friendship with Tulip, the wildly uncontrollable girl on a neighboring farm.
When his class of underachievers is assigned to spend three torturous weeks taking care of their own "babies" in the form of bags of flour, Simon makes amazing discoveries about himself while coming to terms with his long-absent father.
Hugo can have the gerbil he wants, but only if he can first endure the boredom of spending seven hours--the length of time he is at school each day--in a nearly-empty room to learn how a caged animal feels.
