Calliope is 15, and has moved 23 times in the last 4 years. Her mother makes jewelry and works at Renaissance Faires as a tavern wench in the summer . She packs Cal up in the old Datsun and moves on whenever the mood strikes her. They sleep in a tent, or sometimes a cheap motel. The mail forwarding can barely keep up with them. Needless to say, Cal is used to leaving things behind.

Eliot has lived for the last 7 years at the isolated Christian weight loss camp that his parents run in the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. His family used to be wonderful, before his dad stopped selling swimming pools for a living and found religion. Eliot is used to putting on a happy face for the campers, cleaning and repairing cabins, and keeping up appearances.

When your parents make your life unusual and you don’t have any friends, all you can do is hope there is someone out there who might understand you.

When Cal and Eliot meet in a bookstore in town, the first thing Cal noticed about Eliot is that his lips are green, a science experiment gone (quite obviously) awry. When Eliot notices Cal's, he sees fireworks exploding in red, green and white - her hair, her eyes, her bright smile. (Eliot has fireworks on the brain because he is secretly constructing them in the garage behind the camp.)

The story of Eliot and Cal’s summer is funny, romantic and wonderful to read. Eliot and Cal take turns telling the story, and by the end of the book, you will feel like you know both of them.  Check out Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler.