Sahara special - Esme Raji Codell

Sahara Jones, traumatised by her father's abandnment of her and her mother, does none of her schoolwork, even though she loves reading and writing in secret. Everyone at school calls her Sahara Special, because she has to study with the special needs teacher out in the corridor at school.

Her mother, however, objects to this, so Sahara moves from Special Needs Class to repeat 5th Grade, which is when she meets the eccentric and inspiring class teacher, Miss Pointy. Under Miss Pointy's unorthodox tutelage the whole class blossoms, but especially Sahara who, it is revealed, has a great gift for writing. Sahara is truly special after all.