Content Warning: The novel discusses ableism toward people with autism.

Twelve-year-old Charlie lives in Southern California with his older sister Davis, his younger twin brothers Joel and Jake, and his dad Robert. Since his dad was injured in Afghanistan, his grandmother, Gram, has been taking care of them.

The family gets ready to visit Dad at the hospital. Beforehand, Charlie washes his hands 12 times under hot water. Everyone urges him to hurry up, insisting that Dad is waiting. Charlie argues that he isn’t waiting because he doesn’t know whether they’re there or not due to his head injury (3). Charlie doesn’t like when people say things that aren’t facts.

Dad is an English teacher who sometimes does part-time journalism work (4). He was “do[ing] a profile on some soldiers” in Afghanistan recently when their jeep hit a bomb and Dad was thrown from the vehicle (4). Charlie imagines that he looked like a bird when this happened. Now no one knows when he’ll be better.