Cancelled

Gr 9 Up–Brynn Whittaker has gone from dominating her senior year to being cancelled by her peers. Everyone believes it was her in the banana costume hooking up with her ex-best friend’s boyfriend on Halloween in the video that gets spread around. The fact that she is a serial dater and known as a flirt coach, helping her peers get dates, doesn’t help. Brynn could get angry, and she does, but she also takes action. She and her friends set out to expose the misogyny and double standards that women face, with their school not being an exception. As they get closer to figuring out who the girl in the video is, Brynn must decide if exposing her is what she should actually do. Penn finds the perfect balance of handling a serious topic with respect but also in a light manner with a dose of comedy. Although a crusader for her cause, Brynn is flawed, which makes her realistic and relatable to readers. Brynn’s hesitation to expose who was in the video adds to the message of the judgment one faces and how doing what’s right can still have negative consequences. Although the plot wraps up a little too neatly, it does not take away from the point of this story. Brynn is white, but there is diversity among secondary characters.