24 August 2026 NOTHING TO SEE HERE by Barbara Dee, Scholastic Press, October 2026, 304p., ISBN: 979-8-225-05168-6

“According to studies by Yale University, victims of bullying are between 2 and 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims.”

–  The National Center for Biotechnology Information

“You, with your words like knives and swords

And weapons that you use against me

You have knocked me off my feet again

Got me feeling like a nothing

You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard

Calling me out when I'm wounded

You, picking on the weaker man”

– Taylor Swift, “Mean” (2010)

“‘What’s more, the social media algorithms are built to promote whatever you seem interested in,’ says Dr. Mayes. ‘If a teen searches for any kind of mental health condition, such as depression or suicide, it’s going to feed them information about those things, so soon they may begin to think that everyone around them is depressed or thinking about suicide, which is not necessarily good for mental health.’”

– Yale Medicine

WINNIE:

“The actual name was Charles M. Gossett Middle School, so I guess calling it Gossip School was kind of obvious. I mean, talking about kids behind their backs was practically our school sport. Especially in the eighth grade, when everybody was bored and jumpy, and on their phones half the time, even in class.

Except for me, but I’ll explain about that later.

What I’m trying to say is that back when the whole thing started, before the list went out and everything turned horrible with Bellamy Coates, it seemed like regular, normal Gossip School stuff–kids paying too much attention to other kids. Kids trying too hard to be funny. Kids being mean for no reason. So to be honest with you, I didn’t take it too seriously, or even focus on it a whole lot.”

So begins the story. Winnie, Gia, Mateo, and Levi are four eighth graders at Gossett Middle School. These four schoolmates take turns, chapter-by-chapter, narrating this dramatic tale for tweens.

“Social bullying is when a person tries to hurt another person's relationships or reputation. This harms the targeted person’s mental health because it affects their sense of belonging. Part of human nature is the desire to feel accepted as a member of a group.

Social bullying can happen online or in person. Because social bullying can be indirect or direct, it can be hard to identify.”

– McMillen Health

The first third of NOTHING TO SEE HERE chronicles the social bullying being dished out at Gossett Middle School. Each of the four narrators is soon impacted negatively by posts on a couple of (fictitious) social media sites that are super-popular with their classmates. The social media drama is becoming the talk of the school. But because the posters hide their identities behind cutesy pseudonyms, we have no way of matching up the nasty posts and unflattering photos with any of the quartet’s various schoolmates. 

WINNIE:

“At first I thought it was a joke–you know, like someone pretending to shout. Or reacting to a prank, or maybe having a food fight.

But then I saw Bellamy Coates. She was across the lunchroom,standing in front of my regular table, about a foot away from Maple and Esme.

Her face was bright red. Not blushing red, angry red. ‘Is this supposed to be funny?’ she was saying.

Someone at that table–it looked like Nola–said something I couldn’t hear. 

‘Don’t tell me to calm down!’ Bellamy answered. All of a sudden, she snatched Nola’s phone and threw it across the lunchroom. It landed on the floor by the kitchen.

Then Bellamy turned to the whole lunchroom. ‘All of you: you think you can say whatever you want? Or write whatever you want? That your lies and your stupid rumors don’t matter? That I don’t matter? Well, I'm sick of it–the way you’ve treated me since I got here. Like you wanted me to react, like it was a sport, or a game. Well, fine: you won. I give up. All right? Everybody happy now?

She burst into tears and ran out of the lunchroom.”

Given the gross crap that has been posted about her, before Bellamy finally explodes and doesn’t show up at school on subsequent days, I was sure fearing the worst.

This is the point when the quartet gets together and decides that talking to the adults won’t help. Anonymous social media posts are not something the school can readily address—despite the significant impact upon the students. So the quartet decide that they need to try to solve the problem on a kid level. 

Author Barbara Dee was inspired to write NOTHING TO SEE HERE, a tween grabber, after hearing an NPR story about some Texas teens who decided to post fake rumors and gossip to demonstrate how misinformation spreads on social media. These four eighth graders will attempt a similar tactic.

See the challenges and pitfalls these young activists face, as they strategize and act in hopes of preventing more social bullying situations at Gossip Middle School like Bellamy’s horrific experience.

Richie Partington, MLIS

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