Who celebrates her 16th birthday?
Beatrice "Booky" Thomson is a spunky 15-year-old who dreams of becoming a great writer despite the odds. Life in Toronto during the 1930s are hard ones for Booky's family. Parents Thomas and Francy are barely able to eke out a living for themselves and their children Willa, Arthur, and Booky. But irrepressible Booky, with her big imagination and even bigger plans, seems able to tackle anything.
When her new school teacher, Mr. Jackson, inspires her to become a writer, Booky pursues her career with gusto - until she lets some well-meaning advice from a great Canadian author shatter her dreams.
Following a short stay at Aunt Aggie's Muskoka farm to quell a bout of bronchitis, Booky returns home to resume the usual joys and trials of growing up. She starts the Deanna Durbin fan club with her best friends Ruthie and Gladys, rebuffs the advances of her brother's trouble-making friend Georgie, celebrates her 16th birthday with disastrous results, and falls for Gloria's ex-boyfriend Lorne. Then one day, she decides to enter the local newspaper's essay writing contest and what happens after that nearly turns Booky's life upside down.
Booky