Ellie McDoodle is stuck camping with her cousins and her aunt and uncle for a whole week. Thank goodness she has her sketchbook with her so she can spy on/observe these people and make notes about what she sees. That's the only way she is going to survive the week. They don't even camp like her family-there's no tent. Er-ick, her male cousin, is a thief, a sneak and a cheat. His twin sister, Deanna, likes to take the heads off her sister's dolls and put their clothes on backwards. They're just awful. Thank goodness Ellie meets Scott who shares her love of nature. Will she survive? Will anyone find out what she's writing about them in her book?