There are four reasons why Viola Chesterton knows she'll never survive her first year at Prefect Academy:

• Her parents have heartlessly dropped her there against her will
• She has to leave behind her Best Friend Forever And Always, Andrew
• . . . and replace him with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there
• "There" is South Bend, Indiana--Sherbet-Colored Sweater Capital of the World and about as far away from her hometown of Brooklyn, New York, as you can get

At least she has her video camera and her dreams of being a filmmaker to keep her busy. But boarding school, and her roommates, and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life. But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.