Guppie Persaud wants to be a hero, but most days, she feels more like a terminally shy zero.

Then her dad gets chosen for a yearlong teacher exchange program, and the whole family packs up for a big move. This is Guppie's chance to prove she's a hero with a real adventure, starting by hatching a plan with her brothers to secretly enter an online photography contest, win cellphones, and finally override their parents' outdated no-phones rule.

But the three-week road trip from Calgary to their new home in New York City includes no A/C in the van, no cellphones, and no escape from her technophobe parents' old-people music.

No matter, because every hero's quest has obstacles, and Guppie is determined to make the most of her summer on the road and go from shy zero to epic hero.