David isn't like everyone else: he has bug eyes and he can fly. After pulling a prank on some of the mean kids in his school, he is sent to a school for gifted people... people like him. There, he meets a girl named Cheetah, who has epilepsy. Next, he meets a doctor who can make David look like a normal kid and offers his services. While thinking about his decision to go through with the surgery, David meets a boy named Brandon. Brandon has cancer and is going to die soon, so he tells David that he's a participant of the Make a Wish foundation.

This book is all about being different. The main character, David, was born different. Eventually, he gets fed up with all the teasing and decides to play a trick on his tormentors. He jumps off a cliff. They think he died, so theyre rather surprised when he walks into school the next day. What no one knows is that he has flaps of skin under his arms that enable him not to fly, but to glide like a hang glider. He is ashamed of his differences until he meets a girl named Cheetah. She makes him realize that the differences make us special.