Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away

OLIVIA GRAY WILL NOT FADE AWAY is a middle grade book that follows the titular character as she starts 7th grade. Her life has been much the same since 6th grade, except that her brother came out as a gay and her favorite art streamer has returned to streaming. But when she arrives at school, it seems like everyone else has changed. Her friends are constantly talking about boys and crushes, there’s a new app ruling the school, and the librarian Olivia loved has retired and been replaced. It’s all a lot for Olivia, made even worse when she accidentally rejects the most popular boy’s invite to a dance and she becomes the center of gossip on the new app. Soon she’s going invisible, unseen by everyone except the new librarian and a kid named Jules.

Olivia Gray is a fantastic character to follow because she isn’t perfect. She makes mistakes, snaps at people, chooses things that she probably shouldn’t. Not because she’s a bad or selfish character, but because she’s 13. She’s confused and scared and lonely. Ciera Burch gives Olivia Gray the honor of feeling real. It’s fascinating how much you can love and enjoy a character, even when they make decisions that you know aren’t going to end well.

The supporting characters in this book are fun, but they don’t always feel fully fleshed out and real. There are hints to them, but not enough for them to feel like real people in the same way that Olivia does. However, I still enjoyed the variety of supporting characters we are given in this book. Jules is a personal favorite of mine, but I found myself interested in all the supporting characters at one point or another. I wish there had been more details given about these characters, because I feel like it might have added a bit more to the story and the resolution especially.

This book focuses a lot on how Olivia Gray feels, especially when she’s around her friends who seem to all feel something that she doesn’t. Ciera Burch cuts straight to the bone with some of the conversations and thoughts that Olivia has. Her thoughts and emotions aren’t treated by the author as unfair or unreal. Olivia is given time and space to feel the way she does, even if her feelings don’t make sense to the people around her. She’s allowed to be angry and sad and confused and all the shades of gray in between. Ciera Burch gives her the sort of emotions and realism that tugs that part of everyone who has ever felt different or invisible. I can only imagine what reading this book as a middle school student would feel like.

The way the author and book use Olivia going invisible is both intriguing and heart wrenching. Olivia feels tingly when her friends describe romance, eventually seeming to disappear entirely. It plays into Olivia’s fears, but it also echoes a feeling that a lot of “different” kids felt. When you don’t see people like you, when you’re told that you’re different or wrong for being who you are, it leaves you feeling invisible. This book just took that feeling and made it literal.

The pacing in this book seems to suit the style of the novel. It might move a bit fast at times, but it fits with Olivia and the general hurricane that school can feel like at times. From a reader’s perspective: it works. Most of the plot points are given time to build up and develop. The resolution felt a bit quick, tied up too quickly and neatly considering what it was about, but middle school can be like that at times. It didn’t quite feel satisfying to me, a couple of chapters between the last two chapters could’ve added that missing piece of the puzzle, but I didn’t hate the ending either.

A middle grade book following Olivia Gray as she enters the 7th grade to a seemingly different world, OLIVIA GRAY WILL NOT FADE AWAY carefully tackles tough conversations like growing apart, feeling different, and being comfortable in your own skin.

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.

Olivia Gray has just started seventh grade, but things feel different. Her brother has been spending a lot more time with his crush, and her friends are all focused on who likes who and Olivia is feeling left out. Unfortunately for Olivia, she unknowingly rejects Robbie, the most popular boy in school, and ends up going viral on KruShh, the social app everyone at school is obsessed with. As talk about dating increases, Olivia feels left out, and a new condition seems to arise in which she is flickering in and out of sight when anyone talks about romance with her. Throughout all of this, Olivia, with the help of the new librarian and her new friend, Jules, begins to realize that she may be asexual, but she isn’t so sure about using that label. She just wants to be “normal” and fit in, but she isn’t sure she can do that and not disappear.

What I Liked: The idea that Olivia physically disappears when romance is brought up is intriguing and immediately hooks you into the story. At first, Olivia is concerned about what is happening until Jules is introduced and helps her navigate the disappearance. While Olivia now has a hunch as to why this is happening, she still hasn’t embraced her sexuality and strives to fit in. Unfortunately, this means that she isn’t seen or heard by others literally. This feature is interesting to watch unfold and is a great take on what it feels like internally to be keeping parts of yourself from others.

The relationships that are shared throughout this book are fantastic and realistic for a middle school story. There are so many moments in which Olivia will frustrate you because, as an adult, you know better, but you have to continuously remind yourself that she is only 13 years old. The relationship that Olivia and Jules developed with the librarian was refreshing; it was great to see that they had a trusted adult who helped guide Olivia as she questioned her sexuality. It was also inspiring to see the role that books play in questioning your sexuality and how much information one can get from a book. This highlights the importance of the representation that asexual people are receiving from Olivia and Jules in this book.

The portrayal of figuring out one’s sexuality was realistic and also heartwarming. Olivia’s want to fit in with her friends, and pretending to have a crush is an important part of this journey. These moments will have you laughing and also clutching at your heart as you just want her to embrace who she is. It was fantastic to see Olivia’s family be so accepting when she was willing to share this piece of herself.

Final Verdict: Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away is a heartwarming story about losing yourself to fit in with others, and what it means to be embraced as you are. Children ages 8 and up will enjoy reading this book and relating to the characters as friendships change because of individual interests and how important it is to stay true to oneself.