Virtually Me - by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

Selected for the 2026 Middle Grade List

-- "Read Aloud Indiana" (11/18/2025 12:00:00 AM)

2025 Lizard Nominee

-- "New Mexico Land of Enchantment Book Award" (5/21/2025 12:00:00 AM)

"A middle school ode to individuality fueled by remote learning options. Their tale follows three students, chronicling why each one enrolls in the fanciest virtual middle school imaginable. Seriously, socializing there is realistic and visceral, even down to a seamless virtual dance. Each narrator has different motivations--hating public school, "embarrassing" medical problems, parental interventions--but through it all, they begin examining what fuels their relationships. Messages about accepting people for who they are on the inside are ideal for the target tween/early teen group. There is a humanizing inclusion of the bully's viewpoint, where a shallow popular kid experiences a middle grade dark night of the soul. A tone perfectly geared towards older elementary and young middle school students. A classic 'be yourself' tale, with enough VR bells and whistles to keep tweens interested."-- "School Library Journal"

"Amid a pandemic...Students attend classes via virtual reality and interact with one another by creating avatars...or disguises. When a gaming tournament forces [a] trio to work together they make surprising discoveries about themselves and each other. The protagonists' evolving views of friendship and self-acceptance will resonate with readers who struggle to be--or to find--themselves. Warmly supportive parents are a welcome bonus. A timely, feel-good tale of learning to accept oneself and others."
-- "Kirkus"

"Engaging novel...three adolescents attend an experimental virtual junior high school. The program has fascinating aspects, like team video game tournaments and replicated classrooms and gymnasiums. Concepts of individuality and peer perceptions are handled with humor and compassion. Bradley, Edelle, and Hunter evolve through their virtual interactions, learning emotional and social lessons that resonate in real life. Beyond its wondrous simulations, at the heartfelt core of Virtually Me is the awkward, funny, and incomparable essence of being truly human."-- "Foreword Reviews"

"Thought-provoking read. This discerning examination of middle school social dynamics provides emotional and insightful throughways to difficult conversations surrounding mental health, friendship, and perception of self via three empathetic protagonists striving to fit in and learning that it's okay to be oneself."-- "Publishers Weekly"

Selected as a "recommended title"-- "2023 Kansas National Education Association's Reading Circle Commission"

Selected for the 2024 List-- "Lone Star Reading List"

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.