Not a Highlight Reel: Nora

By Ann Bruce

It took one night with a phone to make me feel like I was missing everything.

Nora Bell is the last kid in seventh grade to get a phone. One night of scrolling later, her messy, freckled, totally ordinary life suddenly looks like a first draft next to Sienna Park's perfect feed.

Soon Nora is counting likes instead of sheep. She hides the hamster comics she and her best friend Priya have made since second grade, because they only got six likes. She lies to skip their Saturday so she can take thirty-one photos of a pink lemonade. And she's finally invited to sit at the loudest table in the cafeteria, where it turns out the price of a seat is laughing at people.

Then Nora sees what's really behind Sienna's posts. And when someone dares her to share a video that isn't hers to share, Nora has to decide what actually counts, even if it costs her everything she's been trying to get.

Funny, honest, and full of heart, Not a Highlight Reel is about friendship, social media, a grandmother who burns every cake she bakes, and figuring out you were enough all along. It includes Nora's "Things I Wish Someone Told Me" list, a blooper-reel activity, discussion questions, and a page for parents and grandparents.

Book 1 in the Encourage Me series. One school. Every girl is fighting a battle you can't see.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HNMZLDDQ
• ISBN13: 9798163869350
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 162 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"