None of the adults in Dawn's life are any help. Her mother reserves her praise for Dawn's cute younger sister, a budding ballet star who trips across the yard in a tutu. Her father is oblivious to everything. And, failing that, he knows junior high school is simply a bridge that must be crossed en route to a good college. He counsels that she simply hold on.
High school is better.
They'll still call you names, but not so much to your face. But none of these things make up for the way she is treated. The movie doesn't end with her riding off to the prom. Heather Matarazzo is a remarkable find as Dawn. Eleven at the time of the shooting, she's in nearly every scene of the film, and delivers a performance that is as moving as it is witty.