As her family noisily slurps root beers at a drive-in stop, Carmen longs to be invisible -- especially when Clark and Larry shout out the news about Mama. Can it get any worse than this? Carmen imagines she's been kidnapped -- how else did she wind up as one of the Cathcarts. . . . At almost thirteen she's the oldest, with five noisy little brothers, a dreamy mom, and a sometimes reckless dad.

When she's a famous artist, she'll get away from them all!

This wonderfully honest and bighearted first novel mirrors life. Carmen Cathcart becomes a friend as, with a voice that is deeply moving yet often funny, she shares the importance of holding on to your dreams and what it means to be a family.