Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
When eighth grader Virginia Vaughn's pals tease her about an encounter with her crush Grayson--a social pariah among her classmates--she vehemently defends herself, leading to a friendship-ending blowout between Virginia and her three besties. The next day, screenshots of the mean things she's said about fellow students in her friends' group chat are posted online. Soon all her classmates have turned against Virginia. Feeling isolated, the 13-year-old attempts to befriend Grayson while also seeking refuge in an anonymous texting friendship with someone known only as Knight Errant, with whom she connected via a wrong number message. As bullying by her former friends intensifies and as she struggles to navigate the aftermath of her public fall from grace, Virginia is caught between two developing relationships. Through winningly acerbic, tech-savvy narration, Meadows (Bye Forever, I Guess) explores budding first love, the complexities of toxic middle school frenemies, and the potential boons and perils of online friendships and communities in this introspective offering. Characters default to white. Ages 8--12. Agent: Lauren MacLeod, Aevitas Creative Management. (Oct.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
It's easy to be mean from behind a screen. Middle school isn't easy, but Virginia is doing great. She loves volunteering at her local public library. The "really cute" Grayson Jennings also frequents the space--although his social stock fell precipitously when he quit football. With besties Mary Heather, Kat, and Jess, she runs Four Takes on Downtown Deer Hill, a popular community review account on the Scrollr app. That is, until the friends have a major fight, and Virginia ends up ostracized. Even worse, the other girls publish Virginia's unkind private group chat comments about classmates to Scrollr for the world to see, ensuring her social destruction. Desperate and alone, Virginia finds an anonymous friend in the form of a text-door neighbor (someone whose phone number is one digit away from her own), who helps her discover the person she wants to be. But no one ever said becoming a better person would be easy. Meadows makes room for honest exploration, inviting readers to witness self-discoveries (and better understand themselves), largely without moralizing. The book's important messages about the power and pitfalls of social media are gentle but insistent, and the story includes relatable discourse around online bullying and harassment. The adult characters are supportive and savvy, and decisions--good and bad--are openly discussed. Accessible and timely, this book will leave readers hanging on every page. Characters are largely cued white. A sweetly gratifying story that doesn't shy away from moral complexities.(Fiction. 10-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
