It’s pouring rain on a November day, but for me, it’s party time! My fourth book for elementary and middle-school readers is in the world today!

To learn more about what the book is about, or for links to purchase, head over here!

I am proud of all the books I’ve written, and excited for them to get into the hands of readers. But IT WASN’T ME feels particularly special. It’s about school communities, and how they function, or don’t, to serve the whole person. It’s about the judgements and stereotypes we all make. It’s about how we lie to ourselves as well as to others, and if we’re not careful, those lies can become the truth.

The 1980s teen movie The Breakfast Club is a favorite of mine, in part because it has probably the best movie quotes of any movie, anywhere. (No really. It’s no contest.

“Can you describe the ruckus?”

“Screws fall out all the time. It’s an imperfect world.”

“Demented and sad, but social.”

“SHOW DICK SOME RESPECT!”

I could go on, but I’ll stop).

Part of the reason that movie is so iconic is because kids now and always struggle with these same stereotypes: we are defined by how we see ourselves, and how others see us. I wanted to play with this premise with younger characters, because to me middle school is a critical time. Kids are starting to calcify into their definition: the Good Kid, the Nerd, the Jock. Or, more worryingly, the Burnout, the Screwup, or the Loser. But good or bad, Prom Queen or Loser, these labels are inaccurate and damaging. So I wanted to write about kids who find a way to fight back against these labels, who learn, though a sometimes painful and sometimes hilarious week, that they are more than just one thing.

They are more.

There is a mystery in this book, and I hope that the ending is satisfying. There are painful truths in here that I hope readers will sympathize with. There are parts that I laughed out loud writing, and I really hope that readers laugh too. But most of all there is an exploration of what happens when you ask hard questions, listen to tough answers, and, as a community, seek to move forward. I hope you like it.

Does that answer your question?

Sincerely yours,

Dana Alison Levy