Book excerpt: At 11 years old, Lincoln Loud is the middle child, with five older sisters and five younger sisters. Surviving the Loud household means staying a step ahead. He's the man with a plan, always coming up with a way to get what he wants or deal with a problem, even if things inevitably go wrong. After all, you know what they say about the best laid plans! But being the only boy comes with some perks. Lincoln gets his own room - even if it's just a converted linen closet. On the other hand, being the only boy also means he sometimes gets a little too much attention from his sisters. And if Lincoln Loud didn't already have enough to deal with, he also gets caught up in the lives of his friends' families, the McBrides and the Casanovas.