It Was Just a Like 1

Ever think something’s no big deal—until it totally becomes one?

For Evan, one small like on a post was nothing. More of a reaction, really.

A single tap on a screen.
A heart on a story.
Just a like.

But in a world of group chats, screenshots, and life lived online, one small moment spirals into rumors, silence, and assumptions no one meant to make.

A message gets misread. The follow-up never gets sent. Conversations don’t happen—so other people fill in the blanks. Suddenly everyone has an opinion… and no one is actually talking.

Told through rotating points of view, It Was Just a Like explores how relationships form, fracture, and repair when everything feels public and permanent. With humor, honesty, and emotional realism, it captures what it’s like to navigate crushes, friendships, and misunderstandings in the digital age.

This is a story about:

• Overthinking something small

• Wanting to protect yourself—and hurting someone anyway

• Learning when silence makes things worse

• Discovering that showing up, face to face, can still matter most

Written for middle school and high school readers, It Was Just a Like is a thoughtful, relatable novel about communication, empathy, and growing up online—where not everything means what it seems, and sometimes the hardest thing to do is simply say what you feel.