Get a cell phone. Stay home alone. Go to the mall with best friend and No Parents. Wear makeup. Get contact lenses. Attend a boy-girl party. Rory Swenson has been waiting her whole life to turn twelve. And she's got a list to prove it. Whenever Rory asks her parents for something, they always say, "When you're twelve . . ." Well, in exactly, 18 hours, 36 minutes, and 52 seconds it will finally happen. Rory's life will officially begin.