After being fired from her mother's salon, Irene has to find a
summer job quickly. She'd rather be drawing the hairstyles of
heroines from literature, her passion. She carries her notebook and
a few classic books everywhere, looking for inspiration.

However, the job she ends up taking doesn't seem to provide much
inspiration. She will be spending the summer babysitting young
siblings Lanie and Evan in a house that only has television for one
hour a day.

Luckily, Irene is creative. She comes up with Food Chicken, a
dare-style game where each person puts a food item into a bowl,
mixes it up and takes turns taking a couple of bites. But getting
sick is not her plan for the summer, especially as she continues to
receive emails from her far-away friends about all the
acquaintances and boyfriends they're making at their camps and
relatives' houses.

At the beach, where Irene and the kids bike to in the afternoons,
Evan is "rescued" from a fake injury by gorgeous Starla, the
lifeguard. Starla has the nerve to ask Irene for $10 to pose for a
drawing in her notebook. Then she starts telling Irene about her
love gone wrong, D., who dumped Starla at the end of the school
year. She's out for revenge and wants Irene to be a witness to the
nasty things she does to get his attention. Then she posts
information about these actions on her blog along with her horrible
poetry. Is this the kind of friend Irene wanted to make?

As she grows more uncomfortable with Starla, she becomes sort of
comfortable with D., who turns out to be Drew, a boy she knew in
grammar school. Irene thinks he's a hottie --- and he's interested
in Irene, too.

Watching the kids, keeping Starla from going too crazy, and
maintaining Drew's attention make for a busy and exciting summer
after all. Irene quickly makes decisions about what --- and who ---
are most important to her and why.

Adele Griffin is a National Book Award Finalist who has created a
fun and very human character in Irene. MY ALMOST EPIC SUMMER will
be a hit with anyone who worries about having a boring
summer.

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