Trudy’s parents are older than other kids’ parents. As she enters middle school, Ma and Pop are in their sixties and seventies—so old, in fact, that most people mistake them for her grandparents. As if that isn’t complicated enough, Trudy’s also having a hard time at school. Math class isn’t going so well, and Ashley—who she pinky-swore she would always be best friends with—has ditched her for a new crowd. Life at Benavidez Middle School is certainly an adjustment.

As the school year goes on, she finds a new best friend, the straight-talking Roshanda; has her first serious crush on a boy; and gets used to life with lockers and class schedules. But just when things are getting better at school, Trudy and Ma notice that Pop is acting funny—he forgets to pick Trudy up from school and starts to put groceries away in the bathroom. Soon, Trudy and her mother embark on a quest to find out what is wrong.

Told in a voice that is honest and pure, Trudy tells the story of an eleven-year-old girl who is growing up while her beloved Pop, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, slips away.