Theresa Anderson is smarter than anyone knows. But with the example of her superachiever older brother, Andre, towering above her, she hasn’t even been trying. How can a girl compete against the favorite, especially since he’s a certified local hero? With her parents and her teacher always on her case and her best friend pregnant and dropped out of school, Theresa turns to hip-hop for comfort. Her favorite singers seem to understand her when no one else does. Everything changes when a new man comes into her life: Devon, whose tough-guy reputation conceals her ambition for academic success. Devon helps Theresa find her own talent and ambition, and together they set up a three-year quest to beat the SAT and get into top colleges. And then Devon gets shot in a street fight, leaving Theresa with two piles of unfinished college applications—her own and Dev’s— and time is running out.