Famous children's author Suki Kabuki and her pet raptor, Rappy, wreak havoc during a visit to Ella Mentry School.

When her father is killed in an accident, twelve-year-old Wren is grief stricken, but what upsets her even more is that her mother seems to be filled with anger, rather than sadness--as they move from place to place Wren is forced to cope with her mother's strange behavior, her own grief, and all the problems that come with being the new girl in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where they finally end up.

Tacky and his fellow penguins on Team Nice Icy Land train hard for the Winter Games, but Tacky's antics make their chances of winning a medal seem slim.