Dexter is twelve years old and lives at The Pines Retirement Village with his grandmother. He’s been home-schooled by the residents since he was six — until the day the truant officer shows up and announces that Dex has to go to the local public school.

Dex does not fit in at middle school. He gets along better with senior citizens than he does kids his own age. He dresses like a grandpa and his taste in movies and music is decades out of date. Only a few students — like Gianna Greco, a reporter at the school’s newspaper looking for a bit story — want to talk to him. For most, he is a weirdo . . . or a target.

Dexter would do anything to get out of middle school and go back to his old life at The Pines. But when his wish finally seems to be coming true, his old and new worlds collide in a way that surprises everyone — and Dexter most of all.