Piano-prodigy Isabella, eleven, whose black father and white mother struggle to share custody, never feels whole, especially as racial tensions affect her school, her parents both become engaged, and she and her stepbrother are stopped by police.

Ten-year-old Albie has never been the smartest, tallest, best at gym, greatest artist, or most musical in his class--as his parents keep reminding him--but new nanny Calista helps him uncover his strengths and take pride in himself.

In New York in 1971, Jamila and Josie are bused across Queens where they try to fit in at a new, integrated junior high school while their best friend, Francesca, tests the limits at a private school.