True to Your Selfie

by Megan McCafferty

The most hilarious, charming, realistic story of middle-grade friendships you'll ever read, from Megan McCafferty, the mega bestselling, beloved author of Sloppy Firsts.
Twelve-year-old Ella has everything she needs to take seventh grade by storm, from the perfect outfit to the perfect new best friend. She's still not 100% sure why cool, confident Morgan has chosen Ella to be her newest sidekick, but Ella is flattered by the attention, even if it means giving up some of the things she's always loved, like fantasy novels . . . and her former best friend, Sophie. Ella feels a little guilty about ditching Sophie, but middle school is no laughing matter, and Ella knows that it'll be safer in popular Morgan's shadow than by Sophie's side.

But life as Morgan's best friend is trickier than Ella imagined. Everything has to be perfect, from their "on brand" selfies to the videos they record of them singing. And the more demanding Morgan becomes, the more Ella starts to wonder if she made the right choice. But Sophie already has a new best friend, leaving Ella feeling more alone and out of place than ever.

So when Ella discovers a new activity that she's really good at -- a hopelessly dorky sport that Morgan has forbidden her from pursuing, Ella has to ask herself what matters more: popularity . . . or staying true to herself? But does she even know who she really is without loyal Sophie by her side?

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Childrens, Friendship, Young Adult

288 pages, Hardcover

Published February 4, 2020

About the author

Megan McCafferty writes fiction for tweens, teens and teens-at-heart of all ages. The author of twelve novels, she’s best known for SLOPPY FIRSTS and four more sequels in the New York Times bestselling Jessica Darling series--available throughout 2021 in updated 20th anniversary editions. She published two new books in 2020: TRUE TO YOUR SELFIE (MG, Scholastic) and THE MALL (YA, Wednesday Books). Described in her first review as “Judy Blume meets Dorothy Parker” (Wall Street Journal), she’s been trying to live up to that high standard ever since.

Reviews

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the sequel to this one first, and I must say I liked the sequel better.
This book really made me feel my age. With all the references to hashtags, Fotobombs, selfies, etc., I realized that I was twelve in a galaxy far away and long ago.
Morgan is a person I would avoided like the plague in middle school. I grew up with a neighbor girl similar to Morgan, in that she let everyone know about how much money her parents spent on her (a lot!) She was not above putting others down by saying, “And your parents can’t afford that.”
I was hoping Ella would get a spine at some point; her absolute allegiance to Morgan left a bad taste for me. Her fencing lessons sounded like fun; I’m half-tempted to join a beginner’s class myself!

[Isabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is incredibly dumb in a very entertaining way

[Rachel Phelps Shearer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up for a couple bucks at the book fair for my students because I love Megan McCafferty, but I just didn’t love this book. It was alright and it has a good message, but it’s pretty forgettable. I’ll still put it in my classroom, and I think some of my kids will like it.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

It wasn't very exciting.

[Ray boycott Reading Challenges until they fix app · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once upon a time Megan McCafferty wrote a book called Sloppy Firsts. It was such a hit it evolved into a series, and a very young Indian-American woman loved it so much she plagiarized it. It was...pretty dece, as they might say now (I think. More on slang later). The series would follow protagonist Jessica Darling from freshman year high school all the way to not-so-young adult and concluded with her even getting married. Then she wrote an MG prequel series, Jessica Darling's It List, which would span a trilogy and even a Netflix movie. But it was left on a cliffhanger, eagerly waiting for a fourth book that would never come.

Instead we got this, just shy of 300 pages of Boomerisms (things a Boomer thinks the kids these days say) that feel ripped right out of Twitter threads, a plot that's been done a billion times and just needs to die, and serves to remind me that McCafferty also wrote Bumped, her poor rip-off of Matched in which, mind you, in both dystopians rich white men get to literally own teen girls as sex slaves. Yeah................

There's literally no reason for this book to exist, other than for Scholastic (I've also seen this book under S&S's Mix MG imprint, oddly enough) to use it as filler for its then-MG frontlist. This is, as my favorite Nerf YouTuber (yes that's a thing) WalcomS7 would say, landfill.

Why couldn't we have gotten the fourth It List book instead?

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read featuring middle schoolers in a world of social media. Twelve year old students Ella and Morgan are Influencers on a fictional Instagram type platform called Fotobooth account. Morgan is running the show as the rich girl who even has a personal chauffeur and an obvious credit card thanks to Daddy. Ella is the grounded, talented buffoon being raised by a single mom who is losing herself as the passenger on the road to famous.

I love the very real dialogue and quick paced story. Many readers will be able to see themselves in one of the many characters in this book. Whether looking from the outside as your "old" best friend moves forward without you or as someone trying to be "famous" and have as many likes as possible on your socials.

This is honestly a great book for kids to read to see just how "fake" some of the Influencers they follow are. How everything is very calculated and staged in the "perfect" photos and lives they admire really are.

I highly recommend!

[Kelly Gagne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really cute story. I enjoyed the characters and the relationships definitely brought me back to middle school. The main character is very authentic.

The biggest issue I had was that the main character just wasn't into the social media aspects and that was what the plot was based around so it took me a little out of the story. She's a great character and very relatable but since she loses her phone (this happens like 4 pages into the book so not a huge spoiler) you don't really get to see the thing she's always thinking about or mentioning. I think it would have made for a much more rich story if we got to see what was going on the whole time and her reactions to experiencing things versus her being told what happened.

We also didn't get to see an aftermath. The type of character Morgan is I feel as though she would have lashed out. I don't know if there will be more books to this series to explore that.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 3.5 stars

I wouldn’t have read this book had it been by any other author, but I absolutely adore Megan McCafferty’s middle grade novels so that made up my mind for me.

I both loved and hated this book. I loved watching Ella grow a backbone and discover her true self, but I hate that teenagers even have to care about things like their amount of followers. This book just reminded me that a) I would never want to go back to middle school and b) thank God we didn’t have social media back then.

Still, it was ultimately a sweet story, and I really enjoyed it.

[Jenny Ashby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and easy - just what I needed to read while we were without power for four days and I couldn't concentrate on anything else much. It's obvious that our main character is NOT being true to herself and that her "partner" is using her. I mean, that's clearly the main point of the book. I wish the author had kept the protagonist in the dark a little longer instead of making it so clear so early on.

[Miranda Salas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is about a girl named Ella who moves to a new town. She wants to fit in, so she makes a perfect version of herself online with her cousin’s help. But pretending to be someone else is hard, and Ella learns it’s better to be herself.

This story is about friends, being yourself, and the trouble with social media.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling series so decided to check this out as well. This was a cute middle-grade with a good message. Looking forward to the release of The Mall later this year!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellas has just gained social media stardom with her best friend Morgan. But when Morgan starts bullying her into during certain things, and saying who she can hang out with, Ella decides that maybe she is losing out on more than she is gaining.

[Sara Euresti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book. It is an entertaining book and it also talks about how important is to stay true to yourself even if you want to fit in you have to choose what you like and don’t change your mind just because someone thinks different than you.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a preteen girl is really hard. And amazing. Megan McCafferty always captures all of it.

[AurorainBookland · Rating 4 out of 5]

In order to legally have social media you have to be 13 years old or older the girls should have been 13 not 12.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morgan is a MONSTER and I am 100% glad I am no longer in 7th grade.

[Charlie N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of knew that Ella was going to realize she wanted to be herself for some time.

[Brooks Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great fun read that will teach a valuable lesson!

[Navy Blaisdell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it! it's so funny

[Sammy McGinnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells people no matter what happens or no matter who you hang out with, do not forget who you are. Ella almost did caught up with trying to become popular with her friend. But in the end, she figured out who she was.

[Rocio · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll read anything and everything Megan writes. This was sweet and funny and makes me every so grateful I didn't grow up with social media.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I decided not to finish this one. As an adult, it's a predictable book with an obvious message. I think that young teens or older kids will absolutely love it - but I'm not interested in finishing it.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one surprised me!
It's about self discovery but in the best way possible. Ella is relatable and I can see many of my students enjoying her perspective. It will charm young readers and they may be able to see themselves in Ella.
I took off one star because it ended abruptly. Overall, great read. Highly recommend.

[Allison Renner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Jessica Darling series, so I was excited to read something by McCafferty for younger readers. True to Your Selfie is a great book for middle graders and tweens about friendship and finding what matters.

Ella plays ukelele and sings harmonies with Morgan for their YouTube channel, which has a ton of followers and is on the verge of blowing up. At least, Morgan is determined to make it blow up. She wants to be famous, and she’s grooming Ella to make sure she fits their “brand”. But Ella is tired of always being “on” for fans and selfies and doing multiple takes of drinking a smoothie. She finally finds something she’s good at, but when Morgan won’t let her pursue that passion, Ella has to assess if she wants to be true to herself or be famous.

This is a fairly quick read, but has many layers in terms of relationship complexities between both family members and friends. I think so many students will be able to see themselves in this book, and it will help them practice empathy towards their classmates and others.

[TJL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad.

I'm still kinda pissed off that the mom never apologized or acknowledged that constantly comparing Ella to her sister in such a demeaning way was bad, though. No wonder Ella's barely trying in school: When she's constantly being held up to Lauren's impossibly perfect standard, why even try?

I'm additionally pissed off that the mom never apologized for demeaning Ella's interests. Whether you like it or not, your daughter is into that "silly social media stuff". And while it's valid to be mad that she's neglecting schoolwork, and absolutely valid to think that Morgan's a little beast, it is not cool to degrade and insult the things your daughter is passionate about- and she is OBVIOUSLY passionate about music, as well as being very good at it.

Parents? Don't do that. You don't have be super into the things your kids are into, but don't demean it because YOU don't see a value in it. Support them in their interests- or at least don't shit on them.

[Laura Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

True To Your Selfie is chock-full of T (which means drama and gossip for those of you not familiar w/the latest slang). Ella and Morgan are social media superstars, but it comes at a price. Morgan has to pre-approve all of Ella's looks and Ella always has to be the sidekick to Morgan's star. When Ella discovers a sport she enjoys, fencing, which Morgan deems uncool, Ella has to decide if she really wants to be the kind of popular that means subjugating all her own interests. This one is funny and believable with dialogue that pops off the page. Recommended for grades 4+.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but I honestly hate the cover and it's one of my least favorite covers ever. I like how Ella kept taking fencing lessons in secret, even after Morgan had told her not to (multiple times). This would be a good book if you like middle school drama books.

[Shaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

some parts of the book were ok but it's a pain to read, the author is trying way too hard to sound "young" and it doesn't work at all because middle schoolers don't act like that or talk like valley girls lmao. wouldn't recommend, awful middle grade novel

[Kirsti Call · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is filled with teenage angst, authentic teen worries and problems and some really fun conflict and suspense. Super fun and easy read!

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this one. It’s a quick read and interesting, sometimes over the top read.