Virtually Me ~ Review

Virtually Me

By Chad Morris 

   and Shelly Brown

This school year will be different than any they have ever experienced before. With a pandemic changing everything, a new VR school is how Bradley, Edelle, and Hunter will experience the upcoming school year. 

Seeing this as a chance to reset their lives could make this the best year for some, while others see this as a significant setback to their entire existence. 

Bradley decides to make his avatar everything he isn't. He hopes to make friends and escape the public perception of who he is. And taking on a new persona is just how he plans to do this.

Edelle is in VR school because her mother doesn't like who she has become. Popularity was Edelle's goal, which affected her in ways she hadn't even realized. All Edelle wants is to get back to the life she had. And she refuses to let anyone know who she is in this new school since her mom insists that her avatar not be fashion heavy.

Hunter has a secret and doesn't want anyone to know about it. Attending this school is the perfect way to keep everyone in the dark. Now he just has to make sure he is the star that he was before.

The virtual reality portion of the book is interesting as it provides a chance for the various characters to change something about themselves. I can't say whether this was a realistic portrayal as I'm not familiar with VR personally, but I liked how this was the catalyst that allowed the main characters to change. Before, appearance was the driving factor in who was considered worthy of friendship or notice. This actually proved to be an equalizer in some respects. 

I highly recommend this book to middle-grade readers. It is an eye-opening experience. It entertains while sharing an important message about accepting a person for who they are as a whole and not because of outward appearance, athletic abilities, or other skills. Everyone is more than they appear at first. In this age of social media, I think this book is a must-read. As someone who was judged on the clothes I wore and even bullied in school, I applaud the authors on a well-delivered message. Sometimes we need to get in someone else's head to truly understand how they see a situation.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

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.

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 is 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.