Author: Westcott, Rebecca
General fiction (Children's/YA)
Published on 11 April 2024 by Scholastic in the United Kingdom.
Paperback | 352 pages
198 x 128 x 20 | 242g
A powerful, contemporary teen novel about the courage to be
yourself in the face of online and in-school peer pressure, from
the co-author of Can You See Me? - perfect for fans of
Tamsin Winter, Holly Bourne and Moxie.
Fourteen-year-old Eden McCoy doesn't fit in. All she's good at
is running, and she doesn't even dare join the track team. Her priority
is to stay in the shadows and avoid the Glossies -
a ruthless clique of girls who use social media to punish and humiliate
their targets, led by their queen Bea and her sidekick Mikki.
But one day, Eden breaks her vow to stay unnoticed: she beats
track star Mikki in a race. This bold move captures the attention
of Bea, who decides Eden needs to either prove her loyalty and become
one of the Glossies - or suffer the consequences. And so The
Testing begins...
As Eden is challenged to play a cruel prank on another kid or
have that same act inflicted on her, her will is pushed to the limit.
The only thing keeping her afloat is an unexpected connection
with a boy called Riley, a fellow runner who messages her online.
But how deep does The Testing run? And how long until Eden breaks?
A sharply written, grippingly entertaining and moving
story that explores the joy to be found in running, sports and exercise
- as well as in community, real friendship and solidarity.
Inspired by research into real teen opinions about the risks
and benefits of social media.
Empathetically explores the different ways girls can be 'put
in boxes' and the pressure to act in a way that society or their
peers expect of them, with a touching mother-daughter relationship
at the heart.