Eleven-year-old Floral Battle always looks forward to the familys annual summer vacation to visit her moms parents in Marigold, Georgia. It's usually two weeks in length, but this year, it's only one, and Floral knows it's just not enough. She can't imagine how she'll spend the summer and doesn't see camp as an option. She wants an epic summer.

Her mom often says, "Use your critical thinking skills." That`s exactly what Floral does. She concocts a strategy to convince her parents to let her spend the summer, alone, with her grandparents. If she's successful, her summer might be filled with evenings sitting inside her grandparents' screened, back porch watching the lightening bugs flicker while hearing the cicadas sing. But the likelihood of a normal summer is slim; her grandparents' diner has a history of being linked to unusual events.