"He's found us!" That's not what eleven-year-old Trevor Tate expects his mom to say when she gets his third suspension noticed in three months. He doesn't expect a robotic tentacle to shoot out of the bathtub and drag her through an otherworldly portal, either. Now to rescue Mom, Trevor must follow her to Nil-- a world of giant bugs, monstrous machines and disturbing lack of working toilets. Then there are the Dark Crows, an army of superkids who think Trevor is a legendary champion sent to save them from the tyrannical teens. To Trevor, those short temper has always branded him a bully, the idea that he could be anyone's night in shining armor is a pipe-dream. But while rescuing Mom, he uncovers a secret about his past that will forever tip the balance between the villain he was, and the hero he was meant to be.

It was all very strange, waking up barefoot in a field of squish in her polkadot nightgown, a red balloon floating off to one side so that she could just see it out of the corner of her eye... Mori has forgotten most everything that isn't nailed to one's head, like talking or walking. (Goodness knows forgetting THOSE things could be quite vexing!) She's not at all certain her name is even Mori, but as it's the closest thing to a name that's popped into her empty head, she has decided it must be so. That was quite a simple task after all, but whatever should she do next? Why is she here in this strange place with all of these mad creatures mixing her upside down and downside up until her poor brain is dizzy as well as bare? Will she ever find her way home -- wherever that may be -- or will she mindlessly wander the strange house in the center of the swamp until nothing is left of her but a polkadotted puddle in the squish?