Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie

"Having a brother is horrible. Having any brother would be horrible, I suppose, but having my particular brother, Jeffrey, is an unrelenting nightmare. It's not because he's eight years younger than I am, although that's part of it. How would you like to be King of the Planet for eight glorious years, and then suddenly get demoted to Vice-King? It's not because he's cuter than I am, although that's part of it, too. I have mouse-brown, cowlicky-hair, glasses that are about an inch thick, and braces that look like I tried to swallow a train wreck. He has those perfect little-kid Chiclet-white teeth, 20-20 vision, and little blond ringlets like the ones on the angels you see on the posters in art class. It's not even because he hates me- he doesn't. The truth is that he idolizes me. And that's the problem: The kid follows me around like I've Elvis or something. And while he's being much too cute and following me around, he also destroys all my stuff, including my self-esteem and my sanity."

Steven Alper hates having a little brother, and for good reason! Jeffrey is constantly messing up Steven's life, creating one problem after another. For 8th grade Steven, Jeffrey is the least of his worries, especially with Renee Albert weaving through his dreams- until the day Jeffrey gets sick.

Let's journey into Steven's life to get a feel for how he lives, his interests, hobbies, and his relationship with Jeffrey!