Didn't Meet Any Geezers

Fourteen-year-old Promila lives on a farm with her quirky grandmother who wrestles chickens and fixes her own tractor. No matter 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 misfires, earning her 80 community service hours now standing between Promila and graduation from high school. Having limited choices and no "wheels," she and her dog Magic are forced to log her hours at the nearby Golden Sunset Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center. Surprisingly, she stumbles into a community of quirky, funny, and sometimes scary residents who come and go. Initial first impressions crumble as she becomes more and more fascinated with the residents and learns valuable skills that come in handy even when she is not there. Promila’s special assignment is to spend at least five minutes a day with Mr. Oscar, a grouchy seventy-eight-year-old resident who throws plastic cups, dinner trays, and profanities at the nurses. When Oscar goes missing in a window-shattering Oklahoma storm, Promila may be the only one who can find Oscar before he gets lost in the lightning and thunder of the storm forever. This is a warm, gentle tale filled with humor and shared wisdom to help young people relate more comfortably with elderly loved ones in all stages of life.