Right place, wrong time. Right friends, wrong party. Right intentions, wrong outcome. This month, we’re reading stories about escaping expectations and uncovering personal motivation. The characters in each of these books grapple with what it means to be in the spotlight—whether they like it or not. For some characters, this is a matter of finding themselves. For others…it’s life and death.
Check out our May must-reads below.
I Didn’t Ask for This by Jennie Wood
This graphic novel takes on the kidfluencer conversation from the perspective of a fictional teen content group called Not Your Baby Anymore.
NYBA are the children of influencers who have put their entire lives online without considering the consequences the teens might face once they grow up. Daisy is the classic content kid. Her mom has captured, recorded, written about, and shared every moment. Casper is the face of his families gluten-free brand. Sasha doesn’t know what stability looks like because she and her family have been jumping from theme park to theme park to review rollercoasters for as long as she can remember. Byron’s family has him recording stunts, never knowing if the next one could be their last.
The members of NYBA want to break away from their unasked for stardom and their family legacies, but getting out of the spotlight is harder than they could have ever imagined.
If you like: Graphic novels, social media, coming of age
I Could Give You the Moon by Ann Lang
As far as Chanel’s followers know, her life is perfect in every way. Behind the scenes, she’s dealing with a less-than-glamorous secret: her parents have separated. Ares lives mostly off the radar, but looking for his missing brother means he needs to step out of the shadows.
Their worlds seem completely separate—until they meet and a shared vision shows Ares’s brother standing outside of Chanel’s burning house.
Finding out how they arrive at the future or even preventing it will depend on their teamwork, and the only way for that to work is complete honesty—and authenticity.
If you like: Coming of age, family stories, unexpected friendship, social media, mystery
Deepa, M.D. by Priya Swaminathan
It’s time for Deepa to get her life back on track. Behind the curve after a year in the hospital, 12-year-old Deepa’s cancer is in remission. It seems like things can finally go back to normal, but her parents are afraid she’s going to get sick again, a new school bully has appeared, and Deepa’s best friend Renée has been growing up and moving on.
Just when it seems impossible that Deepa will ever be able to get her life back, her Uncle Jai gives her a new purpose, helping him solve medical mysteries. This is exactly what Deepa needed—until it turns out that her first patient is her bully’s older brother.
Helping Tayo is going to require Deepa to rely on her personal experiences as a sick kid and dig deep to find her own purpose.
If you like: Middle grade stories, medical drama, school
The New Norm by Matthew J. Gilbert
Suddenly becoming famous sounds great until it happens in real life. We all wonder what happened to the kids who randomly go viral for one cool or embarassing moment, but in this middle-grade adventure, Alexander “Norm” Norman will find out.
The Meadowview Middle School social media forum is busy with conersations about teachers, cafeteria food, and grade-school drama. Or at least it is until Norm goes viral across the internet. Now a celebrity at school and online, Norm’s life (and the first week of school) is suddenly more complicated than ever before.
If you like: Middle grade stories, school, social media, fame
They Want Us Dead by CL Montblanc
Sam Tombs is a 17-year-old content creator with a cause. Their video investigations work to raise awareness of crimes against LGBTQ+ teens.
A content creator meetup at a Victorian mansion seems like a great chance to use influencer power to amplify these stories, but the group gets stranded and one of Sam’s fellow creators turns up dead.
To prevent getting blamed for the murder, Sam will have to team up with their internet nemesis Dylan to survive the crime story they’ve found themselves in and figure out who the killer is.
If you like: Mystery, crime, social media
