What Happens Online
The unforgettable teen comedy from the multi-award-winning and Sunday Times bestselling author of Steady For This and King of Nothing!
$21.98
- Paperback
320 pages
- Release Date
26 August 2025
Summary
Existor is the most popular guy in school. Fred is the loser with no friends. And nobody knows they’re the same person.
Online, Fred goes by Existor@stmarks. His alter ego is the best gamer around - constantly on a winning streak, with tonnes of followers, and the confidence to go with it. But offline, Fred’s life is miserable. His dad’s always working, his mum’s struggling, and at school, everyone looks straight through him. Until Existor’s notoriety spreads to his s…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781471418204 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1471418200 |
| Author: | Nathanael Lessore |
| Publisher: | Hot Key Books |
| Imprint: | Hot Key Books |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 320 |
| Release Date: | 26 August 2025 |
| Weight: | 230g |
| Dimensions: | 21mm x 130mm x 199mm |
| Audience Age: | 11 |
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Critics Review
What Happens Online by Nathanael Lessore begins as Adrian Mole for the gaming generation and then becomes, through its big-hearted tale of one awkward teenager’s split life between reality and the internet, the kind of book you wish that boy from Adolescence had read […] A brilliant, heartfelt book about now. – Lucy Bannerman * The Times, Children’s Book of the Week *
With his deadpan humorous light touch, the award-winning Lessore investigates self-esteem, identity and on- and offline realities in a standout 13+ story that effortlessly blends the serious and comic, tackling the tough stuff without ever feeling preachy. – Imogen Russell Williams * The Guardian, Five of the best young adult books of 2025 *
Blend of smart dialogue, believable characters and humour makes big issues immensely readable. – Fiona Noble * The Observer, YA Books of the Month *
Hilarious, thoughtful and deeply felt, this is another superb 13+ contemporary novel from the Branford Boase-winning Lessore. – Imogen Russell Williams * The Guardian *
A smart and sympathetic look at the world young people live in today, and thought-provoking on how to navigate the insanity of the internet […] Fred’s inner monologue, both neurotic and amusing, will charm more reluctant readers as well as existing fans of Lessore’s work. – Claire Hennessy * Irish Times *
Nathanael Lessore
Nathanael Lessore was born in Camberwell, South East London, as one of eight children to French and Madagascan parents. Although he has spent most of his life in Peckham, Nathanael has also lived in Paris, Strasbourg and Singapore. His debut book Steady For This was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2024 and won the Branford Boase Award 2024. His second book King of Nothing was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2025 and longlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2025. He is also the author of What Happens Online, and writes stories that show his South East London childhood as the funny, warm, adventurous world that wasn’t always represented as such.
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