I enjoyed the concept of the story. The plot takes place over a day between four characters who go to school. We get to know about their problems and the issues they face. It is a fascinating topic because even as adults, we interact with people but don’t try to behave the way they do and what personal problems they might face. I liked how the author tackled this subject.

Moreover, all four characters are dynamic and distinctive. I liked Kenisha and Andrew the best as they did not know how to channel their feelings. They react impulsively to situations, and it was nice to see how they progressed. I also liked Taara as she struggles with a lot of emotions over her mother’s health issues. There are also small moments that I found beautiful, like how Taara’s family talks about “Rose, Bud, and Thorn” (I liked the concept and might use it with my loved ones). On a side note, Stephanie Hider’s illustrations are adorable and give the book a very nice touch.

However, I felt the story ended abruptly. For instance, we don’t know what will happen to Andrew or how Kenisha will deal with Ashley the next day. I also wish we had seen more of Marcos, as he was a wonderful character and role model for Ryan and Andrew. Furthermore, while I enjoyed the author’s writing style, there were many dialogues that the characters repeated word-to-word because the scenes repeat from various perspectives. I felt this made the story longer than needed.

Overall, “The Good, the Bad, and the Backstory” is a lovely middle-grade novel that teaches you how to be empathetic towards others and respect their feelings by understanding them.

This book follows Ashley, Taara, Kenisha, Ryan, and Andrew through one school day. Each chapter focuses on a different student's view of the actions that happened during the day. It starts off with each student's morning as they wake up and get ready for the school day and ends with what happens as each student goes through their day until they go to bed that night. We get to see the same things through the eyes of each student involved and most importantly get to take a peek inside their heads to see what they are thinking about what is happening. The start of each chapter is preceded by a pencil sketch that shows where the student at some point in their day.