Patrice Williams has smarts, just not the kind she needs to survive on the mean streets of inner-city Chicago. All the A's in the world won't be enough to make the 13-year-old fit in - they can't make her poofy hair settle down, they can't erase her Southern accent, they can't turn her pretty or glamorous or even tough enough to stand up to her tormentors. And they certainly can't shuttle her back in time, back to Georgia, where she used to live happily with her grandmother. All the A's in the world can't change her grim reality. Except maybe they can.

When Patrice's principal urges her to apply for a scholarship to a prestigious African-American boarding school in Mississippi, Patrice feels a twinge of hope. She knows she couldn't really go. If she took off, who would watch her young cousins, not to mention do their laundry, cook their food, and help them with their homework while their mom does double shifts to make rent? Certainly not Patrice's 18-year-old sister, who's too busy working or hunting down Mr. Right to pay an ounce of attention to what's going on with Patrice. Still, Patrice has to try.