cover image That Selfie Girl

That Selfie Girl

Linda Oatman High. Saddleback, $10.95 trade paper (192p) ISBN 978-1-68021-060-6

High’s (Teeny Little Grief Machines) addition to the Gravel Road Verse series, written at a third-grade reading level, introduces 17-year-old Macy Rain, who died when she crashed her car while taking a selfie and now chronicles her experiences in heaven. There, Macy falls in love with a fellow teen angel in the “Died by Texting” section of heaven, prevents a student at her old high school from committing a violent act, and receives kudos from God himself. The action zips along in clipped, sometimes glib poems (“All because/ you wanted/ a picture/ of your face,/ to show off to/ the human race”), though the serious underlying themes may still resonate with readers. Ages 14–up. (Feb.)