Confessions From the Group Chat

Get in, loser, we're going back to Deer Hill

Happy good morning! I’m so, so pleased to share some awesome news I’ve been struggling to keep a secret (with middling success) . . .

I HAVE A NEW BOOK COMING THIS FALL!

It’s called CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT, it’s set in Deer Hill (just like BYE FOREVER, I GUESS), and I have all the details for you right here!

The cover!

Because I know that’s why you opened this email. (Unless you thought I was about to spill something really juicy from one of my own group chats. Ahh titles.)

This art is by the incredibly talented Liz Parkes! I’m sure you’ve seen her work on book covers before! I think she’s done such a wonderful job with the art for CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT. The body language, the colors, the details — look at that little cat charm on Virginia’s phone! I swooned.

I couldn’t be more thrilled with this beautiful art, and this book is going to look so good next to BYE FOREVER, I GUESS.

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Okay, so what’s this one about?

Here’s the flap copy!

What happens in the group chat stays in the group chat… until it doesn’t.

Virginia Vaughn just wants to fit in with her super-popular friend group. That means she doesn’t let them know how much she loves the library, she never speaks a word about her massive crush on tragically unpopular Grayson, and she says nasty things she doesn’t actually mean. But only in the group chat, so it’s harmless, right?

But when she has a blowout fight with her clique—specifically, with the Queen Bee herself—her mean texts are posted online for the entire school to see! And, suddenly, Virginia has no one but her cat to talk to.

Cue "Knight Errant," a mystery boy at school who texts Virginia by accident—and who quickly becomes her closest confidante. Though they send messages back and forth for hours every night, Virginia doesn’t want him to know which classmate she is (because then he’ll connect her to the mean texts ALL OVER THE INTERNET). She likes him, but she really likes Grayson, too. Can she find the strength to tell Knight who she really is? And will Grayson—who has become her only ally at school—give up on her when the awful things she’s said about him are finally posted?

Confessions from the Group Chat is the second middle-grade romcom from New York Times bestselling author Jodi Meadow (BYE FOREVER, I GUESS; MY LADY JANE, now streaming on Prime). Sweet, funny, and authentically messy, this is an ultra-cute story about middle-school misbehavior, innocent first love, and the inner life of a repentant mean girl.

I am thriiiiiilled that Mora Couch at Holiday House wanted to buy another MG romcom from me. And when I was like, “It’s going to be more anonymous romance,” they said cool, good, carry on. When I said, “There’s a cat named Lady Zooms-a-Lot,” my editor seemed even more pleased. And when I mentioned that Virginia says some pretty mean things (like you do when peer pressure gets to you) but she’s funny, I’m pretty sure my editor twirled in her seat.

Then we talked about how precious cats are.

And, as always, I’m beyond grateful to my agent — the legend, the rock star, the Lauren MacLeod — who just keeps. selling. books. for me. (This is number 18!!) <3

Seriously, I love this book. She’s a bit snarkier than Bye Forever, but she’s got the same warm heart, humor, and swoony first-love feelings. If you love one, you’re sure to love the other.

You can get your copy on October 21 . . . but of course you can preorder now.

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Preorder!

One More Page (signed/personalized) | Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Preorders are great for a lot of reasons, including making sure publishers print enough copies for everyone to get one right away! They also help publishers decide how much support to put behind a book, so they’re great for authors trying to maintain a career. (That’s me!)

You can also request that your library orders a copy or two for their collection!

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I’m also so excited to share that CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT already has an amazing blurb from the wonderful Claire Swinarski! Here it is!

"Confessions from the Group Chat is a heartfelt, pitch-perfect take on what it means to survive middle school in the digital age. Meadows knows middle school in all of its awkward, agonizing, awesome glory. This story will fill any middle schooler with hope and remind them what friendships are really made of."

– Claire Swinarski, award-winning author of WHAT HAPPENED TO RACHEL RILEY? and TAKE IT FROM THE TOP

Thank you so much, Claire!! <3 (Here’s a link to Claire’s newsletter!)

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Is it a standalone?

YES!

Both of these books are standalones and you can read them in whichever order feels good to you!

If you’ve read BYE FOREVER, I GUESS, you’ll see some familiar background characters and locations in CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT. But the books are about different girls and you won’t have a problem if you read them out of publication order.

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Okay, that’s it for now!

Make sure you preorder CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT! And if you haven’t read BYE FOREVER, I GUESS, this is a great time to catch up!

Preorder CONFESSIONS: One More Page (signed/personalized) | Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Order BYE FOREVER: Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon