Author(s): Allayne L Webster

Teen Fiction

Celebrated Australian author Allayne L. Webster explores the complexities of teen friendships and the difficulties of navigating social media in this captivating novel for younger YA readers. Dene Walker picked me to be her best friend. She had the whole of Tonsley High's year eight to choose from-and she chose me. Me! Tully can't believe her luck. Dene is famous. Everyone loves her. She has thousands of followers online and hundreds of sponsorship deals. Being best friends with Dene Walker is a dream come true. Tully is soon hardly aware that her long-time bestie, Kira, exists, as she shapes her own interests and cares to be the person worthy of Dene's attention. And she's not prepared for the heartache and confusion when Dene's friendship is not all she imagined it to be. Selfie is an engaging and very real exploration of social media and the trickiness of separating what's real from the glossiness of the online world. It's a tender story about friendship and staying true to yourself.

Matilda Bookshop Review

When an Insta-famous girl, Dene, starts at Tully’s school, Tully never expects that Dene will pick her to be her new best friend. Tully is a bit starstruck by Dene’s social media savvy, brand deals, celebrity status, and brilliant smile, but manages to hide it pretty well. Tully’s home life is complex, so she turns to Dene for comfort and the two become fast friends. But is Dene truly the person she presents as online? And will Tully’s obsession go too far? This is a book about teenage friendship in all its messiness, complexity, joys, and heartaches and highlights some of the media pressures facing teens today. Marina