Teenager Phoebe Townsend writes “Circle in the Square,” an informational blog about sex, under the pen name “Pom.” Not even Phoebe’s best friend, Cora, knows unassuming Phoebe (white) is behind it. Phoebe’s goal is to provide reliable answers to readers’ sex-related questions; she’s become a skilled researcher, and the blog is proving far more useful for her peers than the requisite health education class (which avoids mentioning sex as much as possible). Now local mayoral candidate Lydia Brookhurst has decided the blog—and Pom, whom she assumes is an adult and male—are morally corrupting the youth of the community and encouraging them to have sex. Brookhurst’s wealth and influence have far reach. It’s one thing when Neil, Phoebe’s recent crush and her editor on the school paper, reverses his admiration for Pom after making some journalism connections through Brookhurst. But when Phoebe’s mom seems to be wavering—her parents’ small accounting business has a local religious group as a client—it’s a blow. There are vocal supporters of Pom, too, including Cora and high school quarterback Jorge, but when Phoebe is stripped of her anonymity and later doxed, the onslaught of attention and criticism is brutal, challenging many to think deeply about what they believe and how they behave, although change is not a given. This timely, gripping novel isn’t subtle, even as there’s more nuance than the plot alone suggests in a story that plays out in ways that are achingly, sometimes infuriatingly, believable.  (Age 14 and older)

A girl rewrites sex education, one viral post at a time, in this fiercely honest and delightfully awkward novel from the award-winning author of Words on Bathroom Walls.

Phoebe Townsend is a rule follower . . . or so everyone thinks. She’s an A student who writes for her small-town school newspaper. But what no one knows is that Phoebe is also Pom—the anonymous teen who’s rewriting sex education on her blog and social media.

Phoebe is not a pervert. No, really. Her unconventional hobby is just a research obsession. And sex should not be a secret. As long as Phoebe stays undercover, she’s sure she’ll fly through junior year unnoticed. . . .

That is, until Pom goes viral, courtesy of mayoral candidate Lydia Brookhurst. The former beauty queen labels Phoebe’s work an “assault on morality,” riling up her supporters and calling on Pom to reveal her identity. But Phoebe is not backing down. With her anonymity on the line, is it all worth the fight?

Julia Walton delivers a brutally honest novel about sex, social media, and the courage to pursue truth when misinformation is rife. Who knew truth could be so scandalous?