The People We Choose: A Middle School Novel

Mateo Rivera has a plan for sixth grade: get good grades, stay out of trouble, make his family proud, and never give anyone a reason to worry about him.Then someone starts calling him Perfect Mateo.At first, the nickname sounds harmless. But as the jokes spread, private moments become public, a humiliating photo circulates through a class group chat, and Mateo begins measuring every mistake like proof that he is failing at being the person everyone expects him to be.Around him, his friends are carrying struggles of their own. Sofia is being raised by the older sister who stepped in when she needed her most. Noah is tired of people asking which of his two dads is his "real" father. Elijah keeps everything important in a backpack because home has never felt guaranteed. Amara lives inside a family image that looks perfect online and feels very different behind closed doors.As bullying, family pressure, uncertainty about the future, and his own need to be perfect begin closing in, Mateo must decide whether staying silent is really keeping anyone safe-or only making him easier to hurt.Set in Queens in 2026, The People We Choose is a heartfelt middle-grade novel about bullying, anxiety, identity, foster care, adoption, chosen family, and the courage it takes to let other people see who you really are.Because family is not only the people you are assigned.Sometimes it is the people who move their chair