Averil, and basically all the kids in the world, has an app on her phone that tracks every single thing she does. Her mom is over protective and monitors every thing she does. Averil is good at coding, and good at following her parents rules. It causes her a lot of stress and she doesn't like having no privacy, but she wants to make everyone happy. A classmate, Max, tells her that there is going to be an update to Ruby Slippers that will allow parents to watch through the camera and listen through the mic, and Max and Averil realize they need to talk to the creator and tell him that this will be terrible for all kids everywhere. They sneak away from their coding camp onto the college campus and complete a bunch of puzzles to try and convince the app creator to change. While they aren't successful, they do learn to stand up for themselves, and Averil is able to explain to her parents why it is so important for her to be able to have some privacy. This is a delightful book and great for kids and parents alike.

In AVERIL OFFLINE, middle school tech wiz Averil chafes at the watchfulness of her parents, aided by an app called Ruby Slippers. Max, another student in her computer sciences class alerts her to some changes coming to the app and suggests that they team up to meet the app developer and make a case for putting a stop to making the app even more intrusive. The pair devise a plan to evade their parents and run away to secure a meeting with the elusive developer in hopes of putting a stop to the updates. They have to use their problem solving skills to unveil the truth about the app’s developer--and are surprised by what they find.
Averil and Max’s caper is well-paced and delivers an important message about autonomy/privacy and consent as it relates to technology. Averil and Max make a great team, and readers will root for them to be successful on their quest. Beyond being just a timely story about issues related to technology, the book also addresses the continuing gender biases in STEM/coding that have a negative impact on females.

This is a great book for middle school students who feel like their parents are smothering them, and also a good one for a lot of parents to read. Averil's parents have installed the Ruby Slippers app on her phone, which allows them to constantly contact her and track her every move. Averil feels trapped by this continous oversight and forced to find creative ways to get a little freedom. When she learns of a new update that will allow parents even more control, she and her new friend Max set off to find the creator of the app and convince him to make some changes. There is some great information about women computer coders woven in as well. The Wizard of Oz references are spot on. Highly recommended for grades 4 & up.

I like that novels for middle school grade students are beginning to tackle the topic of online safety and also the issue of privacy. This title is relevant and covers issues like women in STEM (and likewise, gender discrimination of girls involved in STEM). Students will grasp onto the themes of autonomy in tech. Nice shorter at around 200 pages--this will make the book accessible to our middle grade readers.

Not many middle grade books acknowledge the existence of phones in tween hands. This one does, and makes for an interesting discussion of surveillance apps and our society's increasing comfort with/embrace of.