Calypso's mom died a few years ago and her emotionally incompetent Dad can't, or won't, talk about Mom at all. Instead he throws himself into writing his History of the Lemon . Meanwhile, the house is dusty, there's never any food in the fridge, and Calypso's grief has made her retreat from everyone and everything into a world of books. When a new girl, Mae, arrives at school, the girls' shared love of reading and writing stories draws them close. Mae's friendship and her lively and chaotic house—where people argue and hug each other—makes Calypso feel more normal, and more wanted, than she has for a long time. But when Calypso finally plucks up the courage to invite Mae over to her house, things go unexpectedly, disastrously wrong as she discovers a shocking truth about her Dad, and his magnum opus. A poignant story about the magic of reading and friendship.