“The video store is David’s favorite place, better than the circus, the fair, or even the beach. Dad always invites me to come, too, but I say, ‘No, thanks.’ David has to watch all the previews on the store TVs and walk down each row of videos, flipping boxes over to read the parental advisory and the rating—even on videos Dad would never let him rent. David’ll say, loud enough for the whole store to hear, ‘Rated PG-thirteen for language and some violence! Crude humor!’ He’ll keep reaching for boxes and flipping them over, not even seeing the looks people give us. But the hardest part is when David kneels in the aisle to see the back of a video box a complete stranger is holding in his hand.”

In the introductory first chapters of the book, narrator Catherine gives vivid descriptions of the actions of the characters who populate her life, indirectly revealing how she feels about them. She describes the way her eight-year-old brother, David, calls attention to himself in public places. Her description demonstrates that, though David has poor impulse control, he reads well and comprehends what he has read. Indirectly, Catherine is also expressing criticism of her father, perhaps because he ignores David’s outbursts, but also because he is oblivious to the embarrassment David causes Catherine.

“Usually in summer I do lots of things by myself because my best friend, Melissa, spends the whole vacation in California with her dad. This year’ll be different, though. The girl next door and I can do all my favorite summer things together: swimming at the pond, watching TV, and riding bikes. We could even send midnight messages from our windows, using flashlights and Morse code, like next-door friends do in books.”

Catherine is a dreamer. Discontent with the life she has, she has imagined a stellar life that includes an imaginary best friend next door—because she has yet to meet the new girl moving in next door—to take the place of her best friend, Melissa. Catherine pines for Melissa as she notes how long it takes for the mail to travel across the country and how expensive phone calls are. While most schoolkids long for the excitement and liberty of summer, Catherine feels trapped, abandoned by her best friend, and stuck with her brother. During the summer vacation from school, for Catherine’s parents, everything is business as usual: Catherine babysits