Kelly Yang can do no wrong! I am absolutely obsessed with this book. Our main character from Finally Seen is now learning about social media and apps that her friends and classmates are using that she is not because she does not have a cell phone. Her mom joins Instagram and TikTok to build her following for her business and they both learn about the dark side and positive side of social media.

Kelly Yang does it again! I really hope there is more to this series just like her Front Desk series! She just writes such great middle grade novels that bring about issues and conversations that need to be had in a way that is approachable and interesting.

I cannot wait to see what Yang writes next! I think Yang has continued to do a phenomenal job bringing forth important topics without making the books too adult or too babyish. She also does so in a way that has wonderful characters and character development that you just don't want to put the book down. Definitely my fav author for sure!!

Unsurprisingly, when a book addresses social media it's going to be a negative portrayal. Lina quickly descends into the dangers of living her life online. We aren't going to be especially surprised by the directions this book takes. But it certainly has some positives. For instance, there are several points in the book that discuss what is going on in our brains when we use social media and rely on our devices. Lina doesn't just fall victim to cyber-bullying - she sees how easy it is to engage in those behaviors from behind a screen. And it isn't just the kids. We see multiple adults engaging in unhealthy online behaviors as well as modeling better interactions both online and in person. While the ultimate conclusions are a bit idealized, overall this is a pleasant read that might encourage some deeper conversations with young readers.

I really enjoyed Finally Heard, Kelly Yang's follow-up novel to Finally Seen. I truly loved Lina's story in the first book, and it was great to see what happened next for her, her family, and her friends (especially Finn and Carla).

What I loved:
- I enjoyed the way Kelly Yang integrated scientific research about social media use, particularly the impact of social media on tweens and teens. I think this book would be an excellent resource for parents and teachers of middle grade students to be able to have important conversations with children about how to safely and thoughtfully engage with social media.
- Kelly Yang writes such lovable protagonists and supporting characters. I was rooting for Lina and her friends and family throughout this book, even when she made some regrettable (but relatable) decisions.
- Finally Heard is an enjoyable read, even for an adult. It was fairly easy to get swept up in the story and to feel invested in the characters' journeys.

What didn't quite work for me:
- There was some ableist language (e.g. "lame") that was frequently used by the tween characters (including the protagonists), and this was never called out by anyone in the book. While I know that Kelly Yang was demonstrating the unkind ways that children sometimes talk to each other, I still think some better language choices could have been made.
- I felt that some of the online comments the students made while talking to each other felt a little young for middle grade students. As someone who teaches the age group, I think that my students might roll their eyes at the examples in the book. For example, the protagonist gets in significant trouble for basically calling her classmates "toxic beetles." (Unkind? Definitely. Realistic for middle schoolers, maybe not.) I'm not sure how Kelly Yang could have handled this differently though, unless she just didn't show the discourse between students, as she obviously would then run the risk of including language that is not appropriate for young readers.

Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a lot, and I will be recommending it to my students!

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

Finally Heard revisits Lina Gao, first introduced by Kelly Yang in Finally Seen. Lina helps her mom make some successful videos for social media to promote her small business and is finally given a phone of her own, allowing her to join many of her classmates who are already interacting on a variety of social media platforms. While initially enthusiastic, Lina soon comes face to face with many of the challenges of social media. Information about internet safety, screen time, and how social media impacts our brains is woven into the narrative as Lina’s school addresses issues arising from social media that are directly impacting students.
With its relatable social situations and realistic portrayal of social media usage and interactions, this timely book will offer tweens and teens an enjoyable and educational read that will help them to consider the impact of their own social media usage.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of the book to read and review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book. I enjoy Kelly Yang's books. Finally Heard has a great message for kids about using social media and cell phones. I have ordered this book for my school library. I can't wait to share this book with them!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of the book. The opinions expressed are my own.

I have long been a fan of Kelly Yang as an author of Middle Grade books. She is honest, insightful and truly enjoyable to read. Finally Heard did not disappoint in my realm of expectation. This book takes a look at how quickly social media can suck you in. With all the pressures and pitfalls that already accost young people, this book takes a look at the added challenges that come about each day because of the internet reality added into their dad to day lives.

Terrific sequel to Finally Seen. Takes on the power, for good and not so good, of social media. Comes at the topic from many different viewpoints: those of students, adults, parents, educators. Perfect for younger students who may be having their first experiences with social media, or are wondering why their parents and educators are restricting. Access. And for their parents! Good title to get discussions started.

Kelly Yang’s voice is unmatched in this incredible story that raises awareness about the social media culture while also creating conversations for young girls on body positivity and the trials and tribulations of growing up. With colorful and engaging characters and beautiful pacing, this story will stand the test of time.

I flew through this book. I absolutely loved it. Kelly Yang has such a knack for addressing difficult issues in a way that is relatable but not preachy. The way that she approached the delicate topic of the pitfalls of social media was so on point, and I loved how she had some of the characters take responsibility for their online actions while others didn’t because that, unfortunately, is also accurate. Additionally, she managed to work in the insecurities of girls as they are going through the changes associated with puberty and how that can affect their self-image as well as their relationships. I will definitely be adding this to my library.

Another fabulous Kelly Yang novel! Inspiring, impactful, and super relevant to my students lives and experiences with social media. Immediately bough 4 copies on release date because I knew it would fly off my library shelves.

Finally Heard by Kelly Yang is the sequel to her book Finally Seen that focuses on 10-year old Lina. In this book, Lina comes face to face with the journey into the world of social media and the dangers that can occur. There is also the theme of approaching puberty and her feelings about that.

Like all of Kelly Yang’s books, she makes the stories and characters realistic and relatable for young people. That is one of the qualities that make her books so perfect for students at the upper elementary and middle school range. This book is no different, although as an adult reading it felt a little didactic at times. I don’t think this would be picked up on by students and I will still purchase for my library and recommend to students.

I loved this newest title from Kelly Yang. Giving a voice to students who otherwise feel they are not represented. Kelly does a wonderful job of creating space to have difficult conversations by presenting them in her works in a way that does not feel confrontational or upsetting. I can't wait to share this with my middle grade students!

Finally Heard by Kelly Yang is an important book for young teens and preteens to read. It is about how social media can impact how a young, easily influenced preteen thinks and behaves. Lina, the main character in Finally Seen, gets a phone and can't believe what everyone else is posting--how big their houses are, how mean they are to each other on Discord, etc. But soon she gets carried away just like everyone else and thankfully learns her lesson. I really enjoyed this book, and loved that much of the "lessons" were backed with research data. But I worry that this will seem to preachy to the younger audience. Time will tell. I will definitely be adding this to my library. I might even do a book club with it!

In this book, a sequel to Finally Seen by author Kelly Yang, Lina, the main character, is a tween struggling with the new found “freedom” of social media. The instances of cyberbullying, sneaking around, having a perfect image, the haves and have nots, mixed with the financial struggles of her family, puberty, and her best friend’s parent’s struggling relationship, are all themes throughout the book. Parts of the storyline were a bit pedantic, and conflicts were resolved too smoothly. While not totally realistic, the way the school deals with cell phone and social media usage is good, and hopefully more tweens, teens, and parents will learn a bit from the endnotes and research links included following the story.

So, I intended to read this to see if it would fit a curriculum I want to set up, and it was such a good little book. It was really well written from a middle grade POV and I loved seeing the problems and value of social media through this perspective. Our culture is so inundated with social media that this type of books and addresses both the shortcomings and the positives will be valuable to begin a conversation with kids about those things. I also loved the background the main character comes from, as the first in her line to come to America (with her parents), and the generational decisions her mother makes verses her grandmother… it opens lots of communication even with parents and children to the merits or a social presence, and the down sides. Very cool.

This book could not be more relevant now for middle school. Lina’s family is struggling financially and her mom is convinced that hiring someone to promote their business on social media is the answer to their problems. When this proves too expensive, the family takes matters into their own hands. . It boosts their business, but so many issues arise when the family creates social media accounts. As the story unfolds and teachers, police, and others are involved, the story realistically portrays what can happen when social media helps guide decision making. Lina and her friends learn some important lessons from their teacher and about true friendship. The book has very helpful pages at the end about how to help families use social media safely and responsibly.

Lina, from Finally Seen, continues to battle the social hierarchy at Winfield Elementary and Kelly Yang uses this playing field to focus on the potential for harm social media and the Internet have on kids and their parents. Main characters still include Lina and her best friends Carla and Finn plus Jessica, the student who joined with her mom in getting Lina’s favorite book/author banned from the school library. Lina’s mom and sister are key players as is favorite teacher, Mrs Carter. The bath bomb business started by the women in the Gao family that seemed to be the answer to the never ending struggle to earn enough cash to pay the bills is floundering and Mom begins an Instagram account to post videos and boost sales. “Modern Mama” is born, sales take off, and Mrs Gao begins to lose herself in producing more and more content, checking her likes, and responding to the negative comments. Lina inherits mom’s old phone and is immediately sucked into the world of chat rooms and videos that flood her feed based on her searches for things related to her changing body which leads to increased feelings of body negativity and obsession with what everyone is or might be saying about her. Mrs. Carter and the school counselor host a Social Media Awareness parent/student evening, cyberbullying and online predators are revealed resulting in damaged relationships. Ultimately, Lina’s family begins to implement limits and changes to their Internet and social media usage and positive change occurs between all of the featured friends and families. Outstanding messages of Internet safety, effects of too much screen time with emphasis on the negative influence of social media, as well as wise lessons on handling conflict face to face rather than through text or chat rooms. Yang keeps her book free of profanity, sexual content and violence and characters represent a wide variety of family configurations, economic strata and ethnic backgrounds. Pair with Sydney Dunlap’s It Happened on Saturday and while more focused on gaming and much more light-hearted, Gordon Korman’s Slacker and Level 13.

Everyone must read this book. I honestly wasn't expecting this book to affect me the way it did. I read Kelly's first book with these characters "Finally Seen" and liked it. I knew this book delt with social media but had no idea how much research had gone into writing this. The how and why we get so addicted are described so well here in a completely understandable way. The story is something everyone can identify with (even me as an adult) and the way Yang added in her research through the school setting was totally amazing. The kids really could understand what was happening to them and why. This is a must read for everyone who has ever or will ever use social media.

Finally Heard is a story about fifth grade students who are addicted to social media. Throughout the story, the kids learn about the consequences of spending so much time online. Middle school students will definitely be able to relate to this story. There are many experiences that they will be able to connect to. This is good book to help students understand how too much screen time can influence them and it will also start the discussion with students about how to handle social media. There are many great lessons in the story.