Sahara Jones is going into fifth grade-again. Although she won't be Sahara Special anymore (special needs, that is), she doesn't expect this year to be any better than last year. Fifth grade is going to be different, though, because Sahara's class is getting a new teacher: Miss Pointy. From her eggplant-colored lipstick to the strange subjects she teaches, like Puzzling and Time Travel, she is like no other teacher Sahara has ever known. With Miss Pointy's help, Sahara just might find a way to redefine special for herself. The latest chapter in her book unfolds when her mother insists that she be taken out of special Ed. So Sahara is facing fifth grade in the regular classroom, again. But why even try to do the work, Sahara wonders, if everything just winds up in the counselor's file? Enter Miss Pointy, the new fifth-grade teacher. With her eggplant-colored lipstick, and strange subjects such as Puzzling and Time Travel, she's like no other teacher Sahara has ever known. Through Miss Pointy's unusual teaching, storytelling, and quiet support, Sahara finds the courage to overcome her fears and prove which file shows her true self.

The winner of the International Children's Book Award, this novel tells the funny and touching tale of classroom redemption. Sahara Jones is going into fifth grade--again. Although she won't be "Sahara Special" (special needs, that is) anymore, she soon learns to find a way to redefine special for herself.

Me and Darrell Sikes — My true ambition — At the library — New things all the time — We got her — Lion's lesson — George gets busted — Way things are built — Miss Pointy gets me where I live — Orphans — Why teachers get apples — Name-calling — Autobiographia literaria.