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Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away
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Expected 17 Mar 26A middle schooler navigates the challenges of feeling invisible—literally and figuratively—as she comes to terms with her asexual identity in this poignant speculative novel perfect for fans of Ellie Engel Saves Herself and Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone.
Seventh grade has just started, but Olivia Gray already knows this year is different. Her brother ignores her for his crush, and all her friends talk about is who likes who, something Olivia has never cared about—even when Robbie, the most popular boy in school, asks her to the fall formal. After unknowingly rejecting him, Olivia goes viral on the social app KruShh. As the chatter about Robbie and dating grows, Olivia starts to feel left out to the point of feeling invisible—literally.
Seen only by her new librarian and a friendly kid named Jules, Olivia flickers in and out of sight whenever the topic of romance comes up. As she begins to realize she might be asexual, Olivia struggles to actually use the label because of the negative perception behind it. All she wants is to be normal, but can she really fit in without disappearing completely?
Seventh grade has just started, but Olivia Gray already knows this year is different. Her brother ignores her for his crush, and all her friends talk about is who likes who, something Olivia has never cared about—even when Robbie, the most popular boy in school, asks her to the fall formal. After unknowingly rejecting him, Olivia goes viral on the social app KruShh. As the chatter about Robbie and dating grows, Olivia starts to feel left out to the point of feeling invisible—literally.
Seen only by her new librarian and a friendly kid named Jules, Olivia flickers in and out of sight whenever the topic of romance comes up. As she begins to realize she might be asexual, Olivia struggles to actually use the label because of the negative perception behind it. All she wants is to be normal, but can she really fit in without disappearing completely?
272 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 17, 2026
131 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 12, 2025
I really loved this book! Honestly seeing that it was about finding acceptance in yourself and also finding out that she was asexual/aro was nice since I could connect with the character.
Olivia is just starting 7th grade and everything is starting to change. Her brother is drifting away after coming out and getting a boyfriend, her friends are all boy crazy and the school dance is coming up. There seems to be romance everywhere but she’s just not feeling it. Whenever it starts to get too much, she starts to turn invisible.
I really enjoyed the analogy of “turning invisible” because when you are trying to figure out something about yourself and everyone around you seems to have already “figured it out” it can seem like you are invisible and no one understands you. Having Olivia figuring out she is asexual and aromantic in middle school is really nice especially having another friend, Jules, who is also on the asexual spectrum to help her figure things out. I figured it out later with no one really to help along the way, so to have this for the new generation is really great.
I loved the story overall and I feel like the flow of the story was really well and thought out.
Thank you Netgally and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.
Olivia is just starting 7th grade and everything is starting to change. Her brother is drifting away after coming out and getting a boyfriend, her friends are all boy crazy and the school dance is coming up. There seems to be romance everywhere but she’s just not feeling it. Whenever it starts to get too much, she starts to turn invisible.
I really enjoyed the analogy of “turning invisible” because when you are trying to figure out something about yourself and everyone around you seems to have already “figured it out” it can seem like you are invisible and no one understands you. Having Olivia figuring out she is asexual and aromantic in middle school is really nice especially having another friend, Jules, who is also on the asexual spectrum to help her figure things out. I figured it out later with no one really to help along the way, so to have this for the new generation is really great.
I loved the story overall and I feel like the flow of the story was really well and thought out.
Thank you Netgally and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
So many books are being written now that I totally needed when I was growing up! Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away is a fairly short middle-grade/YA book about a 13-year-old who is realizing she is not fitting in with her friends and their new obsession with boys and dances and such. This new realization comes along with her feeling bad and seeming invisible at times. During one of her spells, she meets another kid facing something similar.
I thought this was a neat way to make a metaphor for how not fitting in with your peers can be and finding the right friends, as well as a really simple introduction to asexuality. When I was 13, I didn't even know asexuality was an thing, and a book like this would have put some labels on things I was experiencing and made me feel like I didn't have to try so hard to be something I wasn't.
In conclusion, I really liked this one! It was short and sweet, and had a good message.
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing & Margaret K. McElderry Books for the e-ARC!
I thought this was a neat way to make a metaphor for how not fitting in with your peers can be and finding the right friends, as well as a really simple introduction to asexuality. When I was 13, I didn't even know asexuality was an thing, and a book like this would have put some labels on things I was experiencing and made me feel like I didn't have to try so hard to be something I wasn't.
In conclusion, I really liked this one! It was short and sweet, and had a good message.
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing & Margaret K. McElderry Books for the e-ARC!
December 8, 2025
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Olivia is starting 7th grade, and is fortunate enough to have a good group of friends. Her brother, Malcolm, has come out as gay, and Olivia's parents have thrown a party for him as a way to be supportive. Olivia used to spend a lot of time in the school library, talking to Mrs. Cassidy and showing her her sketchbook, but when she checks in this year, she finds to her surprise that she has retired and been replaced by a young, hip librarian, Ms. Amelia. When a 7th and 8th grade formal is announced, Olivia's friends want to share all of the gossip on a social media app called KruShh, which Nessa helpfully downloads for her. Olivia doesn't have much interest in in, but does spend a Friday evening scrolling through it when Malcolm forsakes the family movie night for a date. There's all kinds of drama on KruShh, but Olivia has little interest. She's annoyed when Robbie, a boy her friends think is cute, leaves a note asking her out. She isn't quite sure who left the note and says "no", and things get out of hand on KruShh. Olivia meets Jules in the library; Jules is nonbinary and has asked Miss Amelia for books to help. The odd thing is that both Olivia and Jules have an odd condition; they get headaches, feel tingling in their limbs, and then are invisible to everyone around them. Miss Amelia is the only other person who can see them. As the drama over the dance escalates, Jule and Olivia have a misunderstanding. Eventually, Olivia realizes that she is aromantic and doesn't share the same interest in having relationships that her friends do.
Strengths: Olivia's experience in middle school is given an allegorical twist as she feels invisible and actually physically manifests that feeling. This is a book that is definitely on trend and embraces the cultural zeitgeist when it comes to sexual identity. It also has plenty of tween drama and an especially evil form of social media in KruShh. Olivia's parents are probably the best characters as they try really hard to support Malcolm, but in the cringiest ways possible.
Weaknesses: Being "invisible" in the real world is not particularly pleasant all the time (try being Mrs. Cassidy, Olivia! I'm sure she was probably about 55-60; people don't usually stay in teaching until they are 80.), but if people ACTUALLY turned invisible, it would be an interesting experience. I prefer Kessler's Have Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins or Thompson's The Day I was Erased for fun stories about tweens becoming invisible.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Gino's Alice Austen Lived Here or Riley's Jude Saves the World.
I feel really seen and perhaps a bit irritated by the following description: "Mrs. Cassidy has been nice but tired and had listened to Olivia the way a grandma would, fondly and with vague interest." (page 96 of the e ARC). Ms. Amelia, with her dark purple hair, sneakers, and nose ring, is brand new and possible under thirty years old. She will learn soon enough that she won't have the energy to teach six classes a day while power washing 30 Chromebooks AND weeding the collection in her downtime if she spends time counseling tweens who find the cafeteria overwhelming during her "lunch". Mrs. Cassidy was probably trying to answer e mails while talking to Olivia about her drawings. I do have a bit of concern for Ms. Amelia; there are places where she would be putting her job in jeopardy for sharing her own aromantic identity with students. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying that we live in perilous times.
Olivia is starting 7th grade, and is fortunate enough to have a good group of friends. Her brother, Malcolm, has come out as gay, and Olivia's parents have thrown a party for him as a way to be supportive. Olivia used to spend a lot of time in the school library, talking to Mrs. Cassidy and showing her her sketchbook, but when she checks in this year, she finds to her surprise that she has retired and been replaced by a young, hip librarian, Ms. Amelia. When a 7th and 8th grade formal is announced, Olivia's friends want to share all of the gossip on a social media app called KruShh, which Nessa helpfully downloads for her. Olivia doesn't have much interest in in, but does spend a Friday evening scrolling through it when Malcolm forsakes the family movie night for a date. There's all kinds of drama on KruShh, but Olivia has little interest. She's annoyed when Robbie, a boy her friends think is cute, leaves a note asking her out. She isn't quite sure who left the note and says "no", and things get out of hand on KruShh. Olivia meets Jules in the library; Jules is nonbinary and has asked Miss Amelia for books to help. The odd thing is that both Olivia and Jules have an odd condition; they get headaches, feel tingling in their limbs, and then are invisible to everyone around them. Miss Amelia is the only other person who can see them. As the drama over the dance escalates, Jule and Olivia have a misunderstanding. Eventually, Olivia realizes that she is aromantic and doesn't share the same interest in having relationships that her friends do.
Strengths: Olivia's experience in middle school is given an allegorical twist as she feels invisible and actually physically manifests that feeling. This is a book that is definitely on trend and embraces the cultural zeitgeist when it comes to sexual identity. It also has plenty of tween drama and an especially evil form of social media in KruShh. Olivia's parents are probably the best characters as they try really hard to support Malcolm, but in the cringiest ways possible.
Weaknesses: Being "invisible" in the real world is not particularly pleasant all the time (try being Mrs. Cassidy, Olivia! I'm sure she was probably about 55-60; people don't usually stay in teaching until they are 80.), but if people ACTUALLY turned invisible, it would be an interesting experience. I prefer Kessler's Have Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins or Thompson's The Day I was Erased for fun stories about tweens becoming invisible.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Gino's Alice Austen Lived Here or Riley's Jude Saves the World.
I feel really seen and perhaps a bit irritated by the following description: "Mrs. Cassidy has been nice but tired and had listened to Olivia the way a grandma would, fondly and with vague interest." (page 96 of the e ARC). Ms. Amelia, with her dark purple hair, sneakers, and nose ring, is brand new and possible under thirty years old. She will learn soon enough that she won't have the energy to teach six classes a day while power washing 30 Chromebooks AND weeding the collection in her downtime if she spends time counseling tweens who find the cafeteria overwhelming during her "lunch". Mrs. Cassidy was probably trying to answer e mails while talking to Olivia about her drawings. I do have a bit of concern for Ms. Amelia; there are places where she would be putting her job in jeopardy for sharing her own aromantic identity with students. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying that we live in perilous times.
November 26, 2025
Upon entering seventh grade, Olivia’s friends begin developing crushes and obsessing over a new social media site, leaving Olivia feeling invisible. She isn’t crushing (on guys, on girls, on anyone!) and she couldn’t care less about the social ongoings of her peers. In moments where she feels disconnected from her friends, she begins to experience a tingling throughout her limbs and notices that she’s actually invisible. Her level of invisibility depends on the social situation and the people she’s surrounded by; she is never invisible to Jules, a non-binary student that Olivia befriends, or the school librarian, who we learn is asexual. This book is written from the third-person omniscient viewpoint, so readers are granted full insight into Olivia’s feelings and motivations. Olivia’s parents are supportive of Olivia’s older brother Malcolm, who is in a relationship with a boy in his class, but Olivia worries that even her parents will think something is wrong with her if she tells them she doesn’t like anyone at all. Olivia tries sacrificing her internal peace to feel “normal” and fit in with her friends, but how much is she willing to sacrifice?
Based on the cover art, we know that Olivia is Black, but her race isn’t explicitly mentioned in the book at all. Burch mentions that Olivia and Malcolm (her brother) both have curly hair and refers to Malcolm’s boyfriend as being “paler” than him. Olivia is also researching Black artists in one chapter, but the characters’ racial identities aren’t discussed outside of those passing comments, so their Blackness is more implied than named. This book contains positive LGBTQ+ representation, including Olivia exploring her aro-ace (aromantic and asexual) identity, Jules’ confidence in their non-binary identity, and the school librarian offering Jules and Olivia resources on sexuality and self-discovery. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
Based on the cover art, we know that Olivia is Black, but her race isn’t explicitly mentioned in the book at all. Burch mentions that Olivia and Malcolm (her brother) both have curly hair and refers to Malcolm’s boyfriend as being “paler” than him. Olivia is also researching Black artists in one chapter, but the characters’ racial identities aren’t discussed outside of those passing comments, so their Blackness is more implied than named. This book contains positive LGBTQ+ representation, including Olivia exploring her aro-ace (aromantic and asexual) identity, Jules’ confidence in their non-binary identity, and the school librarian offering Jules and Olivia resources on sexuality and self-discovery. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.5 stars
This book explores Olivia going into the seventh grade and realizing that nothing is the same. She is trying to navigate why her friends are obsessed with who is cute and who is dating. She doesn't understand why these need to be conversations. She starts to wonder why she doesn't feel the same way. With the help of a kind and patient librarian and Jules, who is nonbinary, she learns that she is aro or ace. She also realizes that her friends are not nice. But she tries to fit in anyway. It was difficult to get through those scenes. But I could see this book being beneficial for someone of a similar age who can relate heavily to what's happening in it. Olivia is also dealing with the distance from her brother after he came out as gay and started dating a guy he liked. Olivia feels invisible. I would recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley, Ciera Burch, and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book explores Olivia going into the seventh grade and realizing that nothing is the same. She is trying to navigate why her friends are obsessed with who is cute and who is dating. She doesn't understand why these need to be conversations. She starts to wonder why she doesn't feel the same way. With the help of a kind and patient librarian and Jules, who is nonbinary, she learns that she is aro or ace. She also realizes that her friends are not nice. But she tries to fit in anyway. It was difficult to get through those scenes. But I could see this book being beneficial for someone of a similar age who can relate heavily to what's happening in it. Olivia is also dealing with the distance from her brother after he came out as gay and started dating a guy he liked. Olivia feels invisible. I would recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley, Ciera Burch, and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
*4.5 Stars*
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this little gem of a middle grade book. I loved the main character and I honestly felt everything she felt. I loved the invisibility and how that worked and I really loved Jules too and the librarian. Everything was well-paced and I was into all of it from start to finish. I loved how the book was about asexuality and aromanticism as you're growing up and I just really enjoyed the cast of characters. I wish we would have had a bit more of resolution and understanding of the whole invisibility of it all by the end but I also liked that we didn't. Overall, this was such a good middle grade book and it should get into all the hands!
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this little gem of a middle grade book. I loved the main character and I honestly felt everything she felt. I loved the invisibility and how that worked and I really loved Jules too and the librarian. Everything was well-paced and I was into all of it from start to finish. I loved how the book was about asexuality and aromanticism as you're growing up and I just really enjoyed the cast of characters. I wish we would have had a bit more of resolution and understanding of the whole invisibility of it all by the end but I also liked that we didn't. Overall, this was such a good middle grade book and it should get into all the hands!
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January 24, 2026Olivia Gray from Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away is asexual!
https://www.tumblr.com/aspeccharacter...
https://www.tumblr.com/aspeccharacter...
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Giving this five stars for the representation and the concept. Unsure about my rating for the book - sorting out my feelings from it and will update it later.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews