TEHLOR KAY MEJIA is the bestselling and award-winning author of middle grade and young adult fiction, including It Happened to Anna and Paola Santiago and the River of Tears, which is in development at Disney as a television series to be produced by Eva Longoria. Tehlor strives to create stories which showcase the importance of community, radical inclusion, and abolitionist values. He lives with his child, wife, and two small dogs in Oregon.

A Texas Lone Star Reading List Selection

"Tragic, beautiful, and terrifying, It Happened to Anna will hit home for kids familiar with grief and will make anyone question blinking lights and cold chills. Absolutely haunting!" --Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times bestselling author of Mine

"A compelling middle-grade ghost story in which you never quite know what is real and what is imagined. Just the right amount of creepiness for kids, wrapped around a compassionate examination of grief and friendship." --Christy Peterson, bookseller at Vintage Books

★ "A thoughtful story about emotional growth, balanced gracefully with plenty of spine-tingling scares sure to satisfy middle-grade horror fans." --Booklist, starred review

"A spooky cautionary tale about the toll of unhealthy relationships and an ode to the power of true friendship." --Kirkus Reviews

"[A] spine-tingling ode to the bravery it takes to heal." --Publishers Weekly

"A suspenseful yet sweet tale about friendship....Fear of abandonment, panic attacks, and dread are gracefully represented, along with Mejia's clever supernatural slant." --Shelf Awareness

"Mejia has captured the inner workings and outer environment of a middle school student deftly, weaving a taut and compelling supernatural story that will appeal to introspective, inquisitive readers while helping them contemplate what it means to be a true friend." --The Horn Book

"A delightfully spooky read for tweens that addresses topics like making new friends, bullying, and toxic dynamics." --School Library Journal

Publisher: Yearling Books

Pub date: 2025-08-12

Length: 224 pages