SYNOPSIS DIDN’T MEET A SINGLE GEEZER Fourteen year old Promila lives on a farm with her quirky grandmother who wrestles chickens and fixes her own tractor. No matter how many chickens she chases down or how many eggs she collects, Promila just can’t live up to her Grama’s spunk. Anyway, everyone in school calls her just, well, Vanilla. Now to make up for it, her one non-vanilla April Fool’s prank intended to prove them all wrong goes way south, earning her 120 community-service hours that now stand between Promilla and graduation from middle school. Having limited choices and no wheels, she and her dog Magic are forced to log volunteer hours at the nearby Golden Sunset Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center during summer vacation. When Promila tells her friend Zack about her decision, he is willing to bet a chocolate sundae that she’s in for a long, boring summer at “Geezerville.” Promila’s first days on the job raise a lot of doubts, but she is determined to stick it out. Golden Sunset is huge, lots of residents and staff are there to meet and remember. Magic quickly learns his way around and helps Promila when she gets lost. When Promila attends the employee orientation, she begins to understand what it’s like for many residents, old and in poor health, to live here. For many of them, this is life’s last chapter. To help Promila understand their situation, her boss asks her to write down on separate pages her favorite family member, physical activity, feature of herself, and more. Then her boss asks her – one by one – to rip up the papers. By the time they arrive at Golden Sunset, residents have lost the things that were most important and enjoyable in their lives in the same way. The lesson hits Promila hard. Sucking it in (and ignoring the smell), Promila stumbles into a community of quirky, funny, and sometimes scary residents who come and go. Initial first impressions begin to crumble as she gets to know the residents. Her days are filled with delivering mail, helping the activity director, and other jobs “as needed.” She’s even recruited to help solve the mystery of the sixteen purses that are stolen from various rooms throughout the home over several weeks. Then Promila gets a special assignment - she must spend at least five minutes a day visiting lonely Mr. Oscar Hart, a grouchy seventy-seven-year-old resident, possibly a genuine geezer, who sometimes throws plastic cups, dinner trays, and profanities at the nurses. Luckily, he loves dogs. Mr. Oscar makes fast friends with Magic and tolerates Promila’s visits. He tells laboriously long stories, but he mentions often how Golden Sunset has never arranged for his requests to take him to the graves of his wife and daughter so he can leave flowers. Aside from Oscar, the residents share exciting, historical events of their lives. Listening is an important skill Promila acquires. Perhaps she learns this skill because of Grama, who sets aside “Tea Time Talks” each day to listen to what is going on in Promila’s life. Promila also learns about memory impairment and the best ways to interact with dementia residents. Promila discovers that, just like in school, cliques are here too but mainly among the nursing assistants. Sometimes, Promila observes them socializing with each other instead of taking care of residents. When one of her favorite residents is not dressed and cleaned in preparation for his expected important guests, Promila confronts his nursing assistant for not doing the job for which she is paid. Sadly, Promila comes to realize that death is a natural part of life, but it sure hurts when it’s one of your favorite residents. There are joyful occasions too, though, like 103th birthday parties. Promila’s girlfriends surprise her with a party to celebrate her birthday and completion of her community service hours. On the same afternoon, Oscar goes missing during a window-shattering Oklahoma storm. A phone call from Golden Sunset interrupts her party begging her and Magic to aid in the search. Promila ends her party and recruits her friends’ help. As the one person who actually listened to Oscar’s ramblings on a daily basis, Promila may be the only person who can find Oscar before he becomes a casualty of the storm. Then Promila remembers his desire to visit the graves. On that hunch Promila and Magic venture into the cemetery across the park and find Oscar standing at the grave, drenched but safe. Golden Sunset celebrates Promila as his savior, but the victory to her is that she has learned to understand. When Zack returns home and calls, Promila tells him he would have lost his bet. Zack is very curious to learn if Promila met any real Geezers. After a long silence she answers, “Didn’t meet a single Geezer.”