Hubie is a daydreamer. When he daydreams, he lets his imagination go wild. He imagines he's a rock star, or a heavyweight champion, or sometimes, that he's adopted. In class, he doodles a lot. He draws funny pictures of his teacher, Mrs. Bunce, and of his friends. Daydreaming and doodling are good ways to escape when you think your life is miserable. But real-life problems aren't solved by daydreaming, and Hubie's got some big problems. He's overweight; he's the favorite victim of the class bully, Marruci; and he's not doing well in school. To top it off, his father wants to put his beloved Fred Ferkle, the family cat, to sleep. Hubie is convinced life stinks. But maybe, just maybe, there's something Hubie can do to change all that.