"Think of it as an adventure," twelve-year-old Annie Ferris's father tells her when he announces that the family will be spending the next two months in Nepal on a medical mission. But what sort of adventure is it if you have to leave behind your friends, sleep in a tent with your bratty little sister, and actually be expected to eat something called yak cheese? Not an adventure Annie wants any part of.

Then Annie meets Nirmala, a local girl, and she begins to get to know the real Nepal. Before long, Annie, her little sister, Chelsea, and Nirmala embark on a journey, and the girls find themselves lost in a real-life obstacle course—with a snarling dog, a creaking rope bridge, and a darkening night sky. Will Annie be ready to handle the adventure she finds after all?

In this warm and comic tour of self-discovery, Jennifer J. Stewart gets to the heart of what it truly means to be a family.

Kirkus: "Full of local color and snippets of cultural information, the comedy-adventure will surely please its intended audience. ...just enough danger to keep the pages turning and an authentically voiced narrator."

Children's Literature: "Young readers should have fun reading about Annie and her adventures in this entertaining and thematically significant book."

School Library Journal: "This lighthearted book will lead readers into a totally different kind of life from their own."

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: "It's unusual for a novel this breezy and easy-reading to tackle such challenging themes, but this one manages to bring genuine good humor to this story of an eye-opening journey."

Language Arts: "Stewart writes with humor and just the right amount of sarcasm to appeal to young readers. Not only does she demonstrate an understanding of a twelve-year-old girl trying to deal with a bratty younger sister while trying very hard to grow up, she also describes the appeal of an adventure in a country that changes her life forever."

Smithsonian Asian Pacific Center Bookdragon Blog: "Stewart’s light, often humorous style never lectures; she’s also perceptively sensitive when laughter is not appropriate. Mixed in with the goofy, giddy fun are reminders of life’s not-so-happy realities – a father’s too-early death, incurable diseases, gender inequity, and uncertain futures – presented with just enough detail to encourage younger readers to think beyond their comfort zone …"