Virtually Me

Using personalized avatars, a group of kids look for a fresh start in school when a virtual reality academy opens.

Going to school is going to be a very different experience for Bradley, Hunter, Jasper, and Keiko--five unlikely friends who are all looking for second chances.

A mysterious box arrives at each of their houses containing an invitation to attend a virtual school. More than just being an online school, they'll be able to create an avatar of themselves and interact with their friends and other classmates in real time using VR headsets.

For each of them, that presents an opportunity to become someone they're not, or someone they haven't been. For Bradley, it's a chance to come out of a self-imposed shell. Edelle hopes everyone will see her for who she really is, not just for how she looks. Hunter is looking forward to pretending he's still the person he was last year. Jasper wants to get over past assumptions. And for Keiko, it'll allow her to disappear into the crowd.

For all of them, it's a chance to see just how much they've assumed about each other in the past and maybe an opportunity to become friends.


About the Author
Chad Morris loves the VR set he got for Christmas and is much better at it than he is at video games, but that's still not saying much. Still, he would love to try to keep his balance in the SkateCoaster, laugh like crazy in The Furriest, and punch light blasts at alien bugs like in the games invented for this book. He occasionally dances in public, and he's pretty terrible at social media. (If you want, you can follow him, but keep your expectations low.) He loves writing books and hanging out with his wife, Shelly Brown, and five kids.

Shelly Brown went to junior high in a regular ol' building (boring) and has never transformed into a round fuzzy animal. But she has been listening to K-pop since before BTS's first album and feels deep affection for well-made falafel pitas. She's the mother of five, wife to author Chad Morris, aunt to some incredible young people, substitute teacher, and wannabe Kyoshi Warrior. She's grateful she gets to spend time with students in assemblies across the nation talking about topics from kindness to writing.