Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away and When Tomorrow Burns

Burch, Ciera. Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away

March 17, 2026 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
 

Olivia is starting 7th grade, and is fortunate enough to have a good group of friends. Her brother, Malcolm, has come out as gay, and Olivia's parents have thrown a party for him as a way to be supportive. Olivia used to spend a lot of time in the school library, talking to Mrs. Cassidy and showing her her sketchbook, but when she checks in this year, she finds to her surprise that she has retired and been replaced by a young, hip librarian, Ms. Amelia. When a 7th and 8th grade formal is announced, Olivia's friends want to share all of the gossip on a social media app called KruShh, which Nessa helpfully downloads for her. Olivia doesn't have much interest in in, but does spend a Friday evening scrolling through it when Malcolm forsakes the family movie night for a date. There's all kinds of drama on KruShh, but Olivia has little interest. She's annoyed when Robbie, a boy her friends think is cute, leaves a note asking her out. She isn't quite sure who left the note and says "no", and things get out of hand on KruShh. Olivia meets Jules in the library; Jules is nonbinary and has asked Miss Amelia for books to help. The odd thing is that both Olivia and Jules have an odd condition; they get headaches, feel tingling in their limbs, and then are invisible to everyone around them. Miss Amelia is the only other person who can see them. As the drama over the dance escalates, Jule and Olivia have a misunderstanding. Eventually, Olivia realizes that she is aromantic and doesn't share the same interest in having relationships that her friends do.

Strengths: Olivia's experience in middle school is given an allegorical twist as she feels invisible and actually physically manifests that feeling. This is a book that is definitely on trend and embraces the cultural zeitgeist when it comes to sexual identity. It also has plenty of tween drama and an especially evil form of social media in KruShh. Olivia's parents are probably the best characters as they try really hard to support Malcolm, but in the cringiest ways possible. 
Weaknesses: Being "invisible" in the real world is not particularly pleasant all the time (try being Mrs. Cassidy, Olivia! I'm sure she was probably about 55-60; people don't usually stay in teaching until they are 80.), but if people ACTUALLY turned invisible, it would be an interesting experience. I prefer Kessler's Have Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins or Thompson's The Day I was Erased for fun stories about tweens becoming invisible. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Gino's Alice Austen Lived Here or Riley's Jude Saves the World. 

I feel really seen and perhaps a bit irritated by the following description: "Mrs. Cassidy has been nice but tired and had listened to Olivia the way a grandma would, fondly and with vague interest." (page 96 of the e ARC). Ms. Amelia, with her dark purple hair, sneakers, and nose ring is brand new. She will learn soon enough that she won't have the energy to teach six classes a day while power washing 30 Chromebooks AND weeding the collection in her downtime if she spends time counseling tweens who find the cafeteria overwhelming during her "lunch". Mrs. Cassidy was probably trying to answer e mails while talking to Olivia about her drawings. I do have a bit of concern for Ms. Amelia; there are places where she would be putting her job in jeopardy for sharing her own aromantic identity with students. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying that we live in perilous times. 
 

Keller, Tae. When Tomorrow Burns

March 3, 2026 by Random House Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Nomi, Violet, and Arthur used to be close friends, but as middle school wears on, they spend less time together. Arthur broke away first, spending more time with the boys on the cross country team, in part because he has a crush on Nomi and doesn't think she likes him that way. Nomi does, but she is obsessed with an old book the three kids found in Arthur's fathers' gallery. She thinks that the poems are prophetic, based on how things in her life were able to be interpreted. Violet is more interested in boys than Nomi, which Nomi finds irritating even though she has a crush on Arthur. There are wildfires in the area surrounding their Seattle home, so when Violet shows up wearing an uncharacteristic all pink outfit, Nomi thinks that the combination of pink and gray is signifying the end of her world. Violet is angry about her  mother's blog, and when Lucas asks her to send him a compromising selfie, she does. She thinks he won't share it with anyone. Nomi goes full speed ahead to try to solve the mystery of the book, even contacting a scientist after she says something very similar to one of the prophecies. We also hear a back story of the book from the perspective of the trees. When Lucas shows other boys the picture of Violet in her bra, Nomi goes on the war path and attacks Lucas. This puts her scholarship in jeopardy, and since her single mother is struggling financially, she would have to leave the private school. Violet wants to quit and go to public school with Nomi, and the girls cause a fire when burning some of the unflattering sketches Lucas has spread around school. Luckily, Arthur saves the day by providing proof to the principal. 

This reminded me of Rebecca Stead's 2015 Goodbye, Stranger. I appreciated the author's note that we shouldn't try to hide the horrible things going on in the world from tweens, but I'm not sure that the compromising selfie plot ARC will resonate with my students. Our school dress code is literally "all private parts must be covered", and there have been girls coming to school in low rise jeans and tube tops, which are much more revealing than bras. The cover makes this look like it might be about climate change, and there are glimmers of that, but it's more about social media use and friend difficulties. Hand this to students who will appreciate the interstitial Greek chorus sections from the point of view of the trees.