
This heartwarming chapter book introduces Alice McKinley, an eleven-year-old girl navigating the awkwardness of pre-teen life without her mother. Feeling lost and embarrassed by everything, Alice believes she needs a flawless female role model to guide her. When she's placed in the class of the 'homely' Mrs. Plotkin instead of the beautiful Miss Cole, Alice is initially disappointed. Through a journal assignment she calls 'The Agony of Alice,' and unexpected encounters with her teachers and extended family, Alice learns valuable lessons about inner beauty, self-acceptance, and finding wisdom in surprising places. It's a gentle story about identity, grief, and the journey of growing up.
Eleven-year-old, motherless Alice decides she needs a gorgeous role model who does everything right; and when placed in homely Mrs. Plotkins's class she is greatly disappointed until she discovers it's what people are inside that counts.