• She has slanted eyes
• She has a weird Filipino nickname
• . . . and a weird mother

When Apple is voted the third-ugliest girl in school, her life quickly falls apart. The boys bark at her in the halls and a rumor spreads that she eats dogs for dinner. Music is her only escape. All she needs is enough money to buy a guitar, and then she'll be able to change herself and her life forever. So what if her mother doesn't understand and thinks she's becoming too American? So what if her supposed best friends turn the other way . . .

It might be the Beatles and their music who save Apple, or Mr. Z (Chapel Spring Middle's awesome music teacher)—or it could be two unexpected friends who show her that standing out in a crowd is better than getting lost in it.​