Finally Heard

In this cautionary tale, the sequel to Finally Seen (rev. 1/23), the perks and perils of social media play a pivotal--and educational--role. The Gaos still struggle with bills, and Lina's mom joins Instagram to sell more bath bombs. Fifth-grader Lina gets her first smartphone, and while technology offers some positives (videochatting with her Beijing grandma, promoting her neighbors' small businesses), they are outweighed by the negatives. She envies her classmates' fancy homes, worries about her physical appearance, and experiences cyberbullying (as both a target and a bully); and her best friend gets catfished by an adult. Everything converges when the school holds a "Dangers of Social Media" event and a "Justice Session" to discuss student online behavior. Yang integrates facts about how social media is addictive and detrimental to people's mental health into the story and back matter. She helpfully shows readers a way to cut through social media's downsides--by having honest conversations "brainstorming how to break the dopamine loop. How to not be played by the algorithm." MICHELLE LEE

Lina Gao of Finally Seen is back in Yang's latest novel, learning to find her voice amid new technology and pubescent self-esteem struggles. Lina's mom is hoping to grow her small bath bomb business with the help of a social media influencer--until she discovers the cost. Encouraged by her daughters, Mrs. Gao creates her own simple, heartfelt video, which quickly garners a wave of positive attention. Lina, despite feeling uncomfortable in her changing body, flexes her creative muscles and, with the help of her best buds, begins creating social media promotion videos for her mom and other struggling small businesses. Things are going great until Lina's mom hands over her phone (and unfettered social media access) to Lina permanently. Yang's novel posits the Internet as the great equalizer, in ways both good and bad. On the plus side, it allows small businesses to spread the word about their products freely, and one's creative visions can be realized with a few taps on a screen. Conversely, kids and grown-ups alike struggle with misinformation, trolls, insecurity, addiction, and scams. In addition to offering plenty of food for thought in her characters' choices, Yang smartly employs Lina's teacher as a conduit for sharing information about the effects of social media on the brain. The lesson learned is how to make healthier technology choices rather than abstaining from it entirely. VERDICT A recommended first purchase that tackles tweenhood and technology woes head-on

In this sequel to Finally Seen (2023), Lina becomes self-conscious when she realizes that she's showing signs of puberty earlier than her fifth-grade classmates. Her mother encourages her to become active on social media platforms, and to some extent, Lina is successful. But when she learns that some of her schoolmates are criticizing others online, and their personal attacks become increasingly hurtful, she eventually unleashes her pent-up anger online. Later, she realizes that she can't undo the damage she's done. After she reflects on her actions and candidly expresses her feelings to those she has hurt, help arrives swiftly, sometimes from unexpected sources. Yang writes well, but in this novel, she also has a practical purpose, as explained in the informative author's note about her experiences as a parent researching social media and dealing with its consequences. While some readers will find the didacticism heavy-handed, others might consider that aspect of the narrative secondary to the importance of making the downside of social media apparent to middle-grade readers and dissuading them from using it