Fifteen-year-old Jacob feels <i>almost</i> on the inside: <i>almost</i> smart, <i>almost</i> funny, <i>almost</i> good-looking. His sister is too busy dating guys in Whitesnake jackets to help him, and his mother has just started a curious (and rather un-Christian) holy war with the chruch across the street. Then Jacob meets Mary. If only Mary's father wasn't the minister at the rival church. If only she wasn't dating a youth pastor with pristine white teeth and impeccably trimmed hair. If only Jacob could work up the courage to tell Mary how he feels...