Samuel Gerard is just your average teen: he hangs out at the bike jumps or at the mall with his friends, finds creative ways to avoid schoolwork, and repeatedly asks his parents questions that he knows have no answer. But when his dad leaves on a quest to 'save the world, ' Samuel's life takes a turn - a big turn.

Starting the day after his father leaves, Samuel finds himself on a dizzying, often humorous series of adventures, from being covered in leeches to accidentally blowing up his friend's garage, from cheering up his mom to supervising his feisty grandma, from making...