Follow Your Arrow

January 1, 2021
Known to their fans as #Cevie, CeCe and Silvie are girlfriends and teen fashion influencers on an Instagram-like app. However, bisexual CeCe's online and real-life worlds are upended when Silvie ends their relationship and CeCe soon finds herself attracted to a boy from whom she keeps her online life a secret. For more than two years, CeCe has followed Silvie's lead, to the point of squelching her own political voice to amass followers, likes, and sponsorships. CeCe, who lives with her mother and is estranged from her conservative father, admits she is addicted to social media and worries about losing followers and navigating cancel culture. When she meets Josh, an internet-shunning violinist who goes to a different Cincinnati high school, she decides to hide her online fame while exploring her feelings for him. The novel frames solid debates about the pros and cons of social media in believable dialogue while app posts at the end of every chapter cleverly illustrate what is happening in CeCe's online life. In this first-person novel, the personal and political issues around CeCe's bisexuality are deftly handled. Typical high school experiences like prom and awkward encounters with exes are seamlessly woven into the plot--with a rainbow twist. CeCe and Josh are White; Silvie is Mexican American. A page-turning exploration of the perils of social media and the complexities of sexuality. (Fiction. 13-18)

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February 1, 2021

Gr 9 Up-CeCe Ross and Silvie Castillo Ram�rez met on the second day of freshman year in their high school's brand new Gender and Sexuality Alliance and have been inseparable ever since. Together, they are the Internet-famous couple Cevie, a brand that has earned them a million followers each and substantial income as influencers. When Silvie unexpectedly breaks up with CeCe and #Cevie no longer exists, CeCe loses more than a girlfriend; she loses an identity. In steps Joshua Haim, a violinist who is delightfully disconnected from social media and whose friendship will cause CeCe to reevaluate her identity, the price of keeping secrets, and the meaning of family and love. Verdi addresses sexual identity and cancel culture in this accessible and entertaining novel. Readers will enjoy the relatable and authentic characters, who are bisexual, straight, and lesbian, as well as the exciting climax of the novel. CeCe and Joshua are white, and Silvie is Latina. VERDICT Recommended for public and high school libraries for readability and thoughtful examination of social identity and sexual orientation.-Carly Wiggins Searcy, McNeese State Univ., LA

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