NOTHING TO SEE HERE, by Barbara Dee, Scholastic Press, Oct. 20, 2026, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 8-12)
Four students team up and start posting fake rumors as an experiment to show everyone the dangers of online gossip in Nothing to See Here, by Barbara Dee.
How far is too far?
Between her best friend ditching her and her parents taking away her phone, Winnie’s year is off to a rough start. But eighth grade gets even more complicated when she’s named on the Not Hot list by an anonymous online account.
Gia’s on the Hot list, but she’d rather not be. There’s already enough chatter about her online―how she thinks she’s smarter and better than everyone else, and lately, that she’s secretly dating Mateo.
Mateo isn’t dating Gia, but he’s had a crush on her for over a year now. But kids online are saying they have nothing in common, and he doesn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
Mateo’s best friend Levi doesn’t mind that he’s not the one in the spotlight. He’s got enough going on at home.
And when an anonymous post takes things too far, these four very different kids team up to start their own experiment, posting fake gossip on social media to show what can happen when online rumors get out of control. —Synopsis provided by Scholastic Press
As a parent of a 12-year-old, Nothing to See Here hit hard. We have some fairly strict rules in our home around technology, but as author Barbara Dee shows, even strong guardrails don’t protect youths from everything.
Nothing to See Here unfolds from the perspectives of Gia, Levi, Winnie and Mateo. Levi and Mateo are friends, but it isn’t until shared discomfort and anger over social media posts galvanizes them that they end up as a friend group.
Dee captures the four youths’ inner thoughts with an authenticity that is a times heartbreaking. It’s clear she understands her audience and the issues they are facing. She addresses those head-on, giving them weight while providing readers with jumping off points for discussion and solutions.
Technology and social media aren’t going away anytime soon, making this a necessary read for both young people and their parents.
Copyright © 2026 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.
