"Sixteen-year-old Ellie McGill is fed up. Sure, for some, life in small town Americana is idyllic. Nothing but picket fences and USO dances and holiday parades. But Ellie has long dreamed of towering mountains, tangled jungles, and most of all...traveling to the incredible South American Landmark Paradise Falls. Ellie thought these dreams made her strange, until she met her sweet best friend Carl (when he promptly broke his leg in her clubhouse). Carl is Ellie's closest confidante. He's also the only one able to talk her off a ledge. But things between them seem weird lately as Ellie grows increasingly frustrated with his quiet way of doing things. And is it just her, or are there new feelings bubbling up between them? Then Ellie begins her dream internship at the local zoo, where the flashy millionaire owner organizes an expedition to Paradise Falls to collect new specimens. But the star newcomer, a bird given to him by Charles Muntz himself, doesn't adjust well to his new home and Ellie is put in charge of its seemingly hopeless recovery. Carl advises Ellie to lay low, to not make waves. But that's not something Ellie has ever been good at. And when an opportunity comes for a last minute, emergency rescue mission, she decides to take it. Will Ellie's impulsiveness finally get the better of her? Or will she get the adventure she always wanted . . . and at what cost?" -- Provided by publisher.