Ellie is so not the pageant type. They're Coralee's thing, and Ellie is happy to let her talented friend shine in the spotlight. But what's she supposed to do when Coralee asks her to enter a beauty pageant, and their other best friend, Bert, volunteers to be their manager? Then again, how else is she going to get through this summer with her dad, who barely knows her, while her mom is off on her honeymoon with Ellie's amazing gym teacher? Ellie decides she has nothing to lose.

There's only one problem: the director of the pageant seems determined to put Ellie and her wheelchair front and center. So it's up to Ellie to figure out a way to do it on her own terms and make sure her friendships don't fall apart along the way. Through it all, from thrift store deep dives to disastrous dance routines, she begins to form her own definition of beauty and what it means to really be seen.