Spellbound — Janet McDonald

Raven Jefferson never expected she'd be a mother at sixteen like her best friend, Aisha. Now she's stuck being just another high school dropout, a project girl with few prospects. Or maybe not; Raven does have ambition. Still, when is she going to find the time to finish school? All her time is spent looking for a job or taking care of her son, Smokey. Then her older sister, Dell, tells her about a spelling bee that promises the winner a full college scholarship. But spelling? There isn't a subject she's worse at! Yet Raven is fiercely determined to find a way to get her life back on track. So she starts memorizing words. There's no reason not to try. . . .