It Wasn't Me

Six Stories. One Truth.

The Breakfast Club meets middle school mystery in this story of six very different seventh graders forced together in the aftermath of a vandalism incident.

When Theo’s photographs are vandalized and trashed beyond all recognition, there are five kids at the scene: The Nerd, the Princess, the Jock, the Weirdo, and the Screw-Up.

All anyone will say is “It wasn’t me.”

Theo doesn’t care who it was, he just wants to stop being the victim. The sooner the school forgets the whole humiliating thing, the better. But his favorite teacher is asking the six of them to spend vacation week together “learning to trust” and getting to the truth. She calls it a Justice Circle. He calls it his worst nightmare.
Theo knows everything he needs to know about his classmates, and he’s sure this Justice Circle is going to be an epic and totally mortifying waste of time. But after a few days of sock puppets gone wrong, artificial flesh wounds, and dangerous candy reconnaissance missions, he’s not so certain. As they share their secrets, Theo realizes that he doesn’t know anyone as well as he thought, not even himself. And the truths they share might change their lives forever.

Hilarious, awkward, surprising, and ultimately heartwarming, IT WASN’T ME is a guessing game that keeps readers wondering: what lies behind the labels we wear?

Praise

“A timely, introspective whodunit with a lot of heart.” –Kirkus Review, Starred

“Laugh-out-loud humor […] This is an engaging read with quirky, likable characters with whom tweens will identify. A good purchase for any collection serving middle schoolers.” -School Library Journal, Starred

“A story about six kids who find their way to true friendship and fierce loyalty, and why restorative justice is worth the time and effort it takes.” –Publisher’s Weekly, Starred

“This feels like an important book, one that will start vital conversations in schools.” —Joy McCullough, National Book Award nominee and author of Blood, Water, Paint

“Every reader will find some piece of themselves in Levy’s sharp, humorous, and heartfelt novel.”—John David Anderson, author of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day and Posted

Delacorte Press/Penguin Random House
ISBN: 9781524766450
November 13 2018

Awards and Other Cool Things

*A Junior Library Guild Selection

*Amazon Editor’s Pick: Best Book of November

*Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018

Educator Guide