Without knowing the reason why, twelve-year old Tomasina Charles is being sent north to the "purpletudinally cold and snowy land of Minnesohda" to meet the family she has never known. Exiled to a place where maybe even "abdominable snowmen" might exist, she instead meets a grumpy old grandfather who thinks she's a boy, a bunch of bratty cousins (except one who is really a "kick"), a strange but interesting musical genius, a nasty bully and a boy-crazy girly-girl that, remarkable, becomes her friend. The summer of 1964 is a summer of ups and downs (and maybe more downs) that will change Tomie's world forever.
