Grade: A-
Akeela is a brilliant 11-year-old Black girl wearing wire-rimmed glasses and bearing attitude. Her father died, leaving a hole in her heart.
Akeela confides in us early.
âYou know that feeling no matter what you do or where you go, you just donât fit in? Thatâs what Iâm feeling all the time.â
Despite being bright, Akeelaâs doing poorly in her South L.A. school. Her mother is caring and strong, but she has stress fractures from being a single mom with multiple responsibilities.
Momâs patience is being tried by Akeelaâs slide.
Akeelaâs life changes when a teacher discovers sheâs a gifted speller. Her uncanny, almost intuitive, spelling gift spurs the teacher to enter her in a spelling bee.