Marissa has smarts and plenty of promise, but she's marooned in a broken-down Houston neighborhood--and in a Mexican immigrant family where making ends meet matters much more than making it to college. When her home life becomes unbearable, Marissa seeks comfort elsewhere--and suddenly neither her best friend or boyfriend can get through to her.

What Can't Wait tells the story of one girl's survival in a world in which family trumps individual success and independence, and self-reliance the only key that can unlock the door to the future.