Greta

J. S. Lemon's middle grade debut is an utterly transformative, fiercely original, and surprisingly funny story about consent, friendship, healing, and a beauty that transcends all else.

Greta Goodwin's life is changing. On top of moving to a new neighborhood far away from her best friend, Lotti, she's also starting middle school. Greta isn't totally ready for boys, bras, and bad cafeteria food. She still feels like a little kid compared to those female classmates who have suddenly matured over the summer. Girls who are now objects of curiosity, scorn, and entertainment for everyone else. So, Greta adopts a new motto: "Do not call attention to yourself."

But at her first-ever middle-school party, a boy does pay attention to Greta. At first it feels good. And then it feels awful. Aggressive. Abusive. In the aftermath, Greta can't make sense of what's happened, let alone talk about it, even to Lotti. Impossibly, Greta's body starts to change, and in a vastly different way from everyone else's. What follows leads Greta to believe the world might finally see her as she truly is: ethereal, powerful, and free.

“Reminiscent of Kafka's Metamorphosis” and sensitively told, stunning modern classics like “Fighting Words” and “The Thing About Jellyfish”, Greta will transform readers just as Greta herself is transformed.