I cannot believe the article I just read. I have to give you all the tea.

Shy Girl — the book that was supposed to hit shelves on April 7th — has been officially cancelled by Hachette. And while the news itself is shocking, the timeline of how we got here is even more suspicious.

For months, negative reviews have been piling up. The central accusation? That the book is AI slop. But honestly, that wasn’t even the first controversy. Apparently, the cover art for one of the editions was also stolen off Pinterest. So yes, this book has been surrounded by red flags long before the cancellation.

The Breaking Point

According to the article, Hachette only decided to pull the publication one day after the New York Times approached the publisher with evidence suggesting the book was written with AI.

Let me say that again: people had been raising concerns for months. But it took the New York Times showing up with proof for the publisher to finally act.

Is that not sketchy and weird? If you ask me, there’s one booktuber who I honestly believe took this book down with a single review. That’s the power of Frankie Shelf. Her video review has over a million views, and she read Shy Girl extremely closely — going chapter by chapter, pointing out all the weird, AI-feeling parts. She even counted how many times certain metaphors appeared. For instance, the word sharp is used 159 times in the book. Sharp grass. Sharp everything. It’s just too weird. I feel like it was only after Frankie’s video that people really started paying attention.

I read this book too!

I also read an eARC of this book, and I thought it was bad. But I’m not an expert on AI — I mean, who really is? How can you even truly prove a book was written by AI? That’s the messy question at the heart of all of this. Check out my review of the now dead Shy Girl that no one will get to read now. Maybe for the best?

Hachette’s Statement & The Author’s Response

In the article, Hachette stated that they “remain committed to protecting original creative expression and storytelling.” Apparently, if you use AI in your writing process, it’s supposed to be disclosed. As if anyone would ever dare to do that!

Then there’s a quote from the author, Mia Ballard. She continues to deny using AI herself. Instead, she claims that someone she hired to edit her book must have been the one who used AI — and that this situation has ruined her life.

Here’s her exact quote:

“This controversy has changed my life in many ways, and my mental health is at an all-time low, and my name is ruined for something I didn’t even personally do.”

She noted that she could not elaborate on how the book had been edited with AI because she is pursuing legal action. I don’t know if that means legal action against the publisher or against the person who edited the book with AI. And honestly? How do you even prove something like this?

What’s Next for the Book Industry?

I just feel like the book industry is so crazy right now. What are we going to do with AI moving forward?Don’t you think it’s sketchy that the publisher only decided to officially cancel the publication after they were approached by the New York Times? I think this case around Shy Girl will be the reference for the book industry clapping back at AI-written books. Authors are going to have to be more careful and readers will need to hold them accountable.