Lowry is a junior at Bronzetown High School. Not that exciting. She has certain expectations about the Japanese exchange student who will be living with her family throughout the year. Tami (the exchange student with a super-American first name) doesn't meet Lowry's expectations. And apparently, no one warned Tami about Lowry's port-wine stain across her face. Plus, none of the other exchange kids in the school seem as weird as Tami.
When Tami hides from her host family in odd locations, like under Tami's toddler brother's bed, and calls Lowry a 'monster' to her face, Lowry takes action to get Tami and all her weirdness sent back to Japan. It turns out that's a lot easier planned than accomplished. Even with Tami failing all her classes and having weird sleep habits, Lowry can't seem to get anyone on her side.
Spending so much energy on entrapping Tami, Lowry's grades plummet. Her friends don't seem to have her back, her debate coach keeps giving her dumb outdated topics to argue, her parents are in some stupid fight because Bevan (Lowry's older brother with a more severe case of Sturge-Weber syndrome) gets put back on seizure meds. Clearly, it's all Tami's fault and everyone is being totally unfair to Lowry.
Ugh! Tami ruins everything!