Bad Influence - Tamsin Winter

Amelia isn't as cool as her older sister but is desperate to be.  She studies hard and is an exceptional cello player but the others in her year are mean to her, placing her last in a list of all of the girls in school and calling her "maggot girl".  But when Evan joins her baseball team, she thinks things will change, especially when he kisses her.  She is convinced his arrival at school will mean that she will be thought of differently but when she agrees to do something against her better judgement, her life is changed dramatically and her best friend's parents ban her from seeing Amelia.  Can she turn things round?

I am a big fan of Tamsin's books and love the fact that they are very relatable to readers.  Bad Influence is no exception to that, being set in secondary school and following Amelia who just wants to be seen as one of the cool girls.  She is plagued by her " maggot girl" name and is desperate to get rid of it.  At first, she thinks using TikTok and her cello will help but when Evan comes along, she develops the biggest crush and can't believe her luck when he kisses her.  

I grew up in a time before social media, when chatting to friends meant pulling the telephone as far as the cord would allow you to so you could sit at the bottom of the stairs, and leaving a message meant asking whoever picked up the phone to write a note and leave it on the telephone table (yes, I am that old!).  Today's children have a whole mine-field of social media to navigate and are bombarded with likes, comments, and FOMO 24 hours a day - it must be utterly exhausting and places a huge amount of pressure on teenagers.  Bad Influence explores this brilliantly; looking at both the positive and negative effects of sites like TikTok and Snapchat.  It's a book that can show readers just exactly what one bad decision can do to somebody and the ripple effects that a snap judgement can make for both parties.  It shows us how important the lessons on online safety are in school, especially the idea that this can happen to anybody and how easy it is to be influenced by others

The book also explores the complexities of first relationships in all their nervous glory: Does he like me?  Did I kiss him properly?  Will he message me?  The first person narrative really means that readers will appreciate everything Amelia is going through.

Family is another big theme within the book.  Amelia's parents are divorced and her father is now dating a much younger woman, but it is the relationship that Amelia has her with her father that I found the most fascinating: he is demanding, especially when coaching her baseball team, and seems to be blind to his daughter's real feelings.  There were several occasions when I wanted to reach into the book and give her dad a really good talking to!

Publishing on the 8th June, Bad Influence is a brilliantly written, relatable book about how easy it is to make a wrong decision on social media.  Family, friendships and first kisses combine to make this a must-read book for everybody aged 11+