Dear Student

Dear Student written by Elly Swartz is a middle-grade novel about a young girl named Autumn. Autumn is going through a tough time in her adolescence with her social anxiety and many changes in her life. With her father away in the Peace Corps, her best friend across the country, and middle school just beginning, her life feels overwhelming. How will she make friends? When will her father come back?

Dear Student is a heart-felt middle-grade novel about discovering what a “new normal” feels like. With support from her mother and younger sister, Pickle, Autumn learns many life lessons throughout the book. Most importantly though, she learns about how to navigate different friendships, deal with conflict and work through her social anxiety. The story begins with a vacancy for a Dear Student columnist position. Autumn is interested in being Dear Student, so she decides to apply but keeps it a secret from her new best friend, Logan. Will Logan find out? Can she give helpful advice to her readers?

I really enjoyed this book because I think it genuinely captures the conflicts a young teen feels when navigating young adolescence. Autumn perseveres throughout the book by ultimately following her heart and finding her own path that feels right to her.