A spooky-sweet middle-grade novel about remembering the past in order to brave the future, for fans of Anne Ursu

Twelve-year-old Emily Nero’s best friend is a ghost.

For as long as Nero can remember, she’s been “haunted” by Arlo. He’s always had her back, especially as Nero navigates her workaholic mother, irritable father, even the mega-jerks at school. Nero’s been caught too many times looking at “nothing” and talking to “no one,” which officially made her “the weird girl.” So when she has the chance to start over as “normal” at a prestigious private school, Nero is hopeful that things will change for the better. If she can get top grades at a top school, maybe she’ll stop feeling like she’s never good enough. Maybe her parents will finally see her—and she’ll stop feeling like a ghost too.

But on Nero’s first day at her new school, something’s up with Arlo, something very wrong: her best friend has suddenly turned on her. Glitching electronics, flickering lights, bad smells and cold drafts are only the beginning. Arlo is changing into something scary. And the only clues he gives Nero leave her with more questions than answers. If she wants to save Arlo and their friendship, Nero will have to break old cycles. She will have to let herself be seen, let in new friends, and—worst of all—say goodbye to the past.

Spooky and sweet in turns, Something’s Up with Arlo is about the stories we tell ourselves and finding the courage to make our truth be heard.

MATTEO L. CERILLI is a transmasc author and an activist. He helped found Students for Queer Liberation (Toronto) and works with the No Pride in Policing Coalition. Cerilli writes widely across genres and age categories. Lockjaw is his debut book. Something’s Up with Arlo is his first novel for middle-grade readers.

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