Virtually Me by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown
You will always be worth knowing. Always. No matter how you look.
Virtually Me by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown
Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing for providing me with an advanced readers copy.
In Virtually Me, we follow Bradley, Hunter and Edelle as they navigate around being in a VR school.
The story takes place after the pandemic hits, and one of the things I appreciated about it is attending VR school is not mandatory. Chad Morris and Shelly Brown made it clear that in-person school is still an option. These kids are in VR school for a reason, and though their reasons are different it all stems from one thing: their physical appearance.
Bradley is glad to attend VR school because he'll finally be able to properly be himself while showing other kids his cool dance moves. Hunter's personality still comes through online, but this way he wouldn't have to hide the fact that his hair is falling out. Edelle's mom have her do online school to help her understand that there is more to a person that just their physical appearance.
I enjoyed learning about each of them, and how they dealt with having to virtually attend school. Also, even if I would've preferred for their VR school to properly display their name (it is still school after all), I guess their customizable display names allowed some of them to be who they really are, and to be accepted for who they really are. Additionally, each kid learned lessons that helped them better understand what it means to be a better person, and a better friend.
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.
