Review – Virtually Me by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown @ChadCMorris @SBrownwriter @ShadowMountn #newrelease #middlegrade
Synopsis
A mysterious package.
A new school.
A chance to be someone new.
A new virtual reality school where students get a fresh start.
The pandemic was rough on everyone, especially since school went from being a fun place where you could hang out with your friends to a bunch of heads in small rectangles all trying to talk at once. For Bradley, Edelle, Hunter, Jasper, and Keiko, that’s about to change.
A mysterious box arrives at each of their houses, and they’re invited to attend a virtual school. More than just being online, they’ll be able to create an avatar of themselves and interact with their friends and other classmates in real time using VR headsets.
For each of them, that presents an opportunity to become someone they’re not, or someone they haven’t been. For Bradley, it’s a chance to come out of a self-imposed shell. Edelle hopes everyone will see her for who she really is, not just for how she looks. Hunter is looking forward to pretending he’s still the person he was last year. Jasper wants to get over past assumptions. And for Keiko, it’ll allow her to disappear into the crowd.
For all of them, it’s a chance to see just how much they’ve assumed about each other in the past and maybe an opportunity to become friends.
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Praise
“Amid a pandemic…Students attend classes via virtual reality and interact with one another by creating avatars…or disguises. When a gaming tournament forces [a] trio to work together they make surprising discoveries about themselves and each other. The protagonists’ evolving views of friendship and self-acceptance will resonate with readers who struggle to be-or to find-themselves. Warmly supportive parents are a welcome bonus. A timely, feel-good tale of learning to accept oneself and others.” —Kirkus
“Engaging novel…three adolescents attend an experimental virtual junior high school. The program has fascinating aspects, like team video game tournaments and replicated classrooms and gymnasiums. Concepts of individuality and peer perceptions are handled with humor and compassion. Bradley, Edelle, and Hunter evolve through their virtual interactions, learning emotional and social lessons that resonate in real life. Beyond its wondrous simulations, at the heartfelt core of Virtually Me is the awkward, funny, and incomparable essence of being truly human.” —Foreword Reviews
Review
I love when middle-grade books share a life lesson but aren’t overt about it.
This book focuses on three teens – Hunter, Bradley, and Edelle. It is the height of the pandemic, and they are attending a virtual school. While other issues brought them to the virtual school besides the pandemic, it was a chance for them to start over again. It takes time for them to learn the lessons they are meant to learn, but I enjoyed watching them grow and appreciate life in a whole new way.
These three attended school together before the virtual school, but not all knew who the other was. Part of it is due to the names they gave themself in the virtual school; it was also how their avatar was displayed. Edelle’s mom would not approve of an avatar that wasn’t “plain” since she wanted Edelle to learn that life is more than how you look. Bradley loves K-Pop and went wild with pink hair and some cool dance moves. Hunter was the only one that didn’t try to hide who he was via his avatar. However, because everyone knew who he was and how he acted outside of the virtual school, that had some repercussions for him down the road.
Jasper is a somewhat main character, but none of the chapters are from his point of view. However, he is integral in forming cohesiveness between friends and is just friendly to everyone. We learn more towards the end about Jasper, which is part of what brings everyone together.
This book addresses themes such as bullying, selfishness, image, and self-awareness. Each of the characters, even outside of the main three, contributes to a well-told story that anyone who reads it will walk away with some new perspectives.
We give this book 5 paws up! Wonderful read for everyone.
About the Authors
CHAD MORRIS loves the VR set he got for Christmas and is much better at it than he is at video games, but that’s still not saying much. Still, he would love to try to keep his balance on Skatecoaster, laugh like crazy in The Furriest, and punch light blasts at alien bugs in Infestation ExtermiNation. He occasionally dances in public, and he’s pretty terrible at social media.
SHELLY BROWN went to junior high in a regular ol’ building (boring) and has never transformed into a round fuzzy animal. But she has been listening to K-pop since before BTS’s first album and feels a deep affection for well-made falafel pitas. She’s an aunt to some incredible young people, a substitute teacher, and a wannabe Kyoshi warrior.
As a married couple, Chad and Shelly both love writing books and hanging out with each other and their five kids. They’re grateful they get to spend time with students in assemblies across the nation talking about topics from kindness to writing.
