Nothing to See Here by Dee, Barbara

After an online incident forces a student to leave their school, four students team up and start posting fake rumors as an experiment to show everyone the dangers of online gossip in this high stakes and heartfelt story from highly acclaimed author 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, in this high stakes and heartfelt story from highly acclaimed author Barbara Dee.

Author: Barbara Dee
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: 10/20/2026
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.90w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9798225051686
Audience: Ages 9-12

Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 08/01/2026 pg. 78
Publishers Weekly 08/10/2026
Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2026
Booklist 10/01/2026

About the Author
Barbara Dee is the award-winning author of sixteen middle grade novels. Her books have earned several starred reviews and have been named to many best-of lists, including The Washington Post's Best Children's Books, ALA Notable Children's Books, ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, School Library Journal's Best Middle Grade Books, and the ALA Rainbow List Top Ten. Her books appear on numerous state awards lists as well.