How It All Goes Down
When the story opens, twelve-year-old Summer's guardian Aunt May has died and she and Uncle Ob are trying to deal with the loss. It's not easy for their little family unit to be split up like that, and Uncle Ob's having an especially hard time coping. Sometimes Summer's weird classmate Cletus comes over and keeps Uncle Ob entertained, but he's still struggling. One day, Uncle Ob confides in Summer that he's been feeling Aunt May's presence—he wants to find a way to communicate with her.
They go out into the garden with Cletus and try to communicate with Aunt May, but nothing happens. The next day, Summer wakes up and realizes that Uncle Ob isn't up yet—he's "slept in," which basically means that he hasn't been able to get out of bed. She's worried about him and so she stays at home all day with him. Cletus comes over after school with some interesting news: He's found an ad in the newspaper for a spiritualist church where the reverend communes with the dead. This news perks Uncle Ob up and they start making plans to go the following week when the kids are on break.
That Saturday, they head over to Cletus's house to ask his parents for permission to take him on their trip. Uncle Ob makes up a story about how they're going on a sightseeing tour to the state capitol—Cletus's parents agree, and they start packing and preparing for their trip. Cletus is especially excited to see the state capitol since he's waited his whole life to see it. Uncle Ob promises that after they go to the spiritualist church in Putnam County, they'll spend a whole day at the capitol exploring.
The whole gang sets out on the road and gets to Putnam County after three hours of driving. However, once they get there they find out that the church is defunct and the reverend is dead. Oh no, right? Uncle Ob completely shuts down and tells them that they're all driving home, much to Cletus's dismay. When they get home though, he has a change of heart and turns around again to go to the capitol. As promised, they spend time exploring the capitol with great excitement before they finally go home at the end of the night.
When they get home, Summer sees an owl fly overhead and is overwhelmingly reminded of Aunt May. She starts crying hysterically because she's finally letting go of all those strong emotions—she's finally letting herself grieve. When she sleeps, she has a dream about Aunt May telling her just how much she loves her. Upon waking, she finds Uncle Ob and Cletus in the kitchen, already making a big breakfast. Uncle Ob decides to take his whirligigs (all these art pieces that he's worked on) and put them up in Aunt May's old garden. And all is well.