That's Not What I Heard

November 15, 2018
Chaos descends upon William Henry Harrison High when seniors Kim Landis-Lilley and Teddy Lin break up.Under-the-radar freshman Phil Spooner becomes the key eyewitness to the historic moment that is the end of Chinese-American Teddy and white Kim's six-year romance. Eager for attention from his crush, Kim's best friend, Jess Howard, Phil blurts out a fabricated reason, namely that the relationship ended because Teddy didn't like any of Kim's Instagram posts. Phil's lie spirals out of control as the entire school begins to gossip over what really transpired between the it couple. Students and teachers alike take sides, joining either the red-wearing Team Kim or the Teddy Bears, a group founded by Sophie Maeby, who just broke up with her boyfriend and now pines after Teddy. The plot depends on the development of more ridiculous miscommunication and rumors, resulting in the birth of two more groups, the HeartBeats (who want Kim and Teddy to reconcile) and the AntiKaTs (who are fed up with the whole drama), an all-out cafeteria food fight, and the division of prom into four separate themes. The constantly shifting points of view, though whiplash-inducing, allow for an assorted range of humorous insights into an already absurd situation. Although following a white default, there is ethnic diversity in the student body and school staff.For fans of Mean Girls and other high school comedies. (Fiction. 12-16)

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November 15, 2018
Grades 7-12 Seniors Kim and Teddy, William Henry Harrison High's golden couple, are apparently done. Quitsville. Uncoupled. The source of this hot gossip, freshman Phil Spooner, finds himself in the spotlight after passing along the story with an embellishment or two. Immediately, the school splits into Team Kim and Teddy Bear. The breakup fever spreads, and by the time the prom committee must make a final decision on the theme, there are four wildly disparate ideas (and teams) dividing the school gym into quarters. Between a food fight, a rash of graffiti, and angry parents who also take sides, WHHHS spirals out of control, all because no one, including Kim and Teddy, bothers to ask questions, preferring instead to absorb misinformed gossip and other fake news. Plenty of hyperbole provides copious amounts of laughter in the month leading up to prom. While some will recognize nods to Bye-Bye Birdie, others will see the clever metaphor for the current U.S. political situation. Give this to readers who crave something light and humorous.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)