Thirteen-year-old Merilee Monroe lives an ordered and precise life. Everything is scheduled. There are no surprises. She has peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch every day. She spends half an hour every day picking up litter. She has no time for friends and only likes spending time with her mother or her Uncle Dal. If her schedule gets interrupted, Merilee feels like she’s “on fire.”
Then Biswick moves into town, following her around all day spouting out stupid factoids while his poet father stays home drunk. And Veraleen moves into town and takes over the kitchen while Merilee’s mother is in the hospital. Bisweek and Veraleen are completely ruining Merilee’s VOE (very ordered existence) but slowly, she becomes friends with both of them, even putting her garbage detail off by a few minutes.
This is a story of unlikely friendships and what can be learned from others, no matter whether they are in our lives for a few days, a few years, or a lifetime.