Derek finds a newspaper in the attic with a headline about a girl who drowned in Martha's Vineyard.

Derek's mother refuses to explain the newspaper article about the drowned girl and takes it away from him.

Ms. Williams hands out a summer reading list and announces that every student must read three books.

Derek climbs onto the garage roof and swings a croquet mallet to force his mother to explain the drowning.

Derek's mother reveals that a babysitter named Susan James drowned in a riptide while two-year-old Derek was in her care.

Derek sneaks a helper monkey named Pedro out of the vet clinic and creates chaos at home with the dog.

Derek's mother enrolls Derek in Learning Camp for the rest of the summer after the monkey incident.

Learning Camp counsellor Margot teaches Derek to visualize the scenes in stories as if they were movies.

Derek posts a comment on Susan James's memorial website, revealing that he is the child from the day she died.

Derek's mother agrees to visit her mother in Boston and stop at Martha's Vineyard on the return trip.

Derek's grandmother reads a chapter of his summer book aloud while Derek sits on her lap and visualizes the story.

Susan's friend Lauren reveals that Susan dove into the ocean recklessly and that Bodi—not Susan—saved Derek.

The family visits Madeline James, and Derek's mother chooses not to confront her about the lie she told for years.

The family walks along the beach where Susan died, and Derek says a quiet goodbye to her.

Derek presents his summer book report as a computer animation on his first day back at school.

Derek begins his summer by discovering a family secret hidden in an attic newspaper about a girl who drowned in Martha's Vineyard, and his mother's refusal to discuss it only deepens his obsession. When he finally learns that Susan James drowned while caring for two-year-old Derek, guilt and a sense of responsibility overwhelm him. Meanwhile, a mishap with a helper monkey lands Derek in Learning Camp, where counsellor Margot teaches him to visualize stories as movies, quietly transforming his attitude toward reading. Derek grows bold enough to post on Susan's memorial website and clever enough to convince his mother to take the family to Martha's Vineyard to find answers. There, Susan's friend Lauren delivers a shocking revelation that frees Derek and his mother from years of misplaced guilt. Derek returns home changed, and on the first day of school he presents a book report as a computer animation, proving how far he has come.

The core mystery and reading journey that drives Derek's summer.

Derek and Matt pretend to be James Bond at the mall; Carly stops by carrying a bag full of extra summer books.

Derek's babysitter Amy helps him search online for the drowning, and they learn the drowned girl's name was Susan James.

On the last day of school, Derek spells an insult about the principal and is made to write the multiplication tables.

Ms. Williams gives Derek a personally annotated copy of a book from the summer reading list as a special gift.

Derek and Matt build dirt mounds and throw avocadoes at each other in an elaborate backyard war game.

Matt casually mentions that his family vacation will include a stop at Martha's Vineyard.

Derek visits his father's storyboard office and notices his dad seems depressed about younger animators replacing him.

Derek overhears his parents discussing his impulse control problems and realizes Learning Camp is definitely happening.

Derek's father drives him to Learning Camp; Derek repeatedly bangs his head against the car window in protest.

Derek's mother drops Carly off at home, and Derek is amazed to discover Carly's intricate basement burglar heist maze.

Amy babysits Derek when Matt calls from vacation to report that South Beach has dangerous waves and a powerful riptide.

Derek spots Ms. Williams at the park dressed in casual clothes and high tops, playing softball with her hair in pigtails.

Derek visits Michael's home and watches Pedro the monkey independently fetch a DVD and microwave popcorn for Michael.

Matt arrives back home from vacation and immediately skateboards with Derek down to the beach to watch the surfers.

Derek, Matt, and Carly spend the afternoon playing together in Carly's diamond heist fishing-line maze.

Before summer mysteries and camps take over, Derek spends his last school days pulling pranks with his best friend Matt and forming his first dismissive impressions of overachieving classmate Carly. Early summer is packed with backyard war games, a visit to his father's storyboard office, and the small discovery that Matt's vacation will take him to the very place at the heart of the family secret. Once Matt leaves and Learning Camp begins, Derek slowly opens up to his new environment, and a visit to Carly's home overturns every assumption he made about her. Matt checks in from the road with unsettling news about the dangerous beach, and his return at summer's end feels like a reward after months of change. The three friends end the summer together in Carly's basement maze, a detail that captures how much Derek's world has quietly expanded since June.

The everyday friendships and mishaps that fill out Derek's summer.

Derek writes the name 'SUSAN JAMES' on his bedroom wall so he won't forget it before going to sleep.

Derek accidentally uses a permanent marker to draw a mustache and sideburns on his sleeping father's face.

After hearing Susan's story, Derek's mother cancels the babysitter and the family spends a quiet evening together in the backyard.

Derek's mother bonds with him over his vocabulary illustrations and reveals that his father once drew on his homework too.

Derek arrives at Learning Camp expecting to be the only struggling student and is surprised to find Carly attending too.

On his way to say goodbye to Matt, Derek encounters bully Joe Brennan and firmly defends his own intelligence.

Derek finds Susan James's memorial website and spends over an hour reading posts from people who still miss her.

Derek flips through his vocabulary sketchbook and realizes the drawings together form a flipbook animation of his entire summer.

Derek receives an email from Madeline James, Susan's mother, thanking him warmly for his post on the memorial page.

Derek finds a new post on Susan's memorial page revealing that a girl named Lauren was present the day Susan died.

Michael shows Derek how to animate his vocabulary drawings on a computer, transforming them into moving pictures.

Derek shows his father the animation software, and his father decides to try it himself for his own storyboard work.

While driving around Martha's Vineyard, Derek spots the shop where Susan's friend Lauren sells her handmade jewelry.

At Lambert Cove, Derek's mother receives a call that Carly's hedgehog has died, and Derek asks to speak to Carly.

Derek watches a video of Pedro repeatedly practicing tasks until mastering them and concludes that everyone is meant to keep evolving.

From the moment Derek scrawls a dead girl's name on his bedroom wall, a series of small but significant moments begin redirecting who he is and how he sees the world. A disastrous prank on his sleeping father and a tender moment bonding over illustrations at the vet clinic reveal that Derek and his dad share more than just a love of drawing. At Learning Camp, an unexpected encounter with Carly and a confrontation with a bully both chip away at Derek's stubborn self-image. Each discovery—his drawings forming a flipbook, a letter from Susan's grieving mother, a stranger's name on a memorial page—pulls Derek deeper into a story larger than himself and closer to the truth. Michael's gift of animation software sparks a creative breakthrough that ripples into his father's professional life as well. By the time Derek watches Pedro master a task through patient repetition, he is ready to understand that growth is not a destination but a lifelong process.