From Bethesda Magazine: Local authors explore artificial intelligence and childhood bullying

These writers bring their personal experiences and expertise to their works

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April 3, 2026 3:00 p.m. | Updated: March 31, 2026 4:27 p.m.

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Goodbye, French Fry: A new novel for middle graders includes relatable experiences

While growing up in Westchester County, New York, Rin-rin Yu says she wished there were more books with American-born Asian characters. So the 49-year-old Bethesda communications strategist eventually decided to write a novel for middle grade readers. Goodbye, French Fry (Nancy Paulsen Books, February 2026) features a fifth grade girl, Ping-Ping. Just like the book’s protagonist, Yu was born in the United States to Chinese parents. She often had her name mispronounced and was called nicknames. With feedback from her daughter, Feilin, 14, and son, Zylan, 11, Yu says she crafted the book to be lighthearted and relatable. “I want readers to remember it’s OK to just be kids,” she says. “Sometimes the biggest accomplishments may not be the ones you notice right away or come in the form of an award. … Like the way I confronted my bully who called me ‘french fry’—and [Ping-Ping] does in the book—it was a turning point that gave her confidence.” 

Reader Bot: What Happens When AI Reads and Why It Matters: A Bethesda writer on reading and AI

As a linguistics professor at American University in Washington, D.C., for more than 30 years, Naomi Baron has researched and written about technology’s impact on the way people communicate. The 79-year-old retired in 2018, but says she feels compelled as a “public scholar” to write for a general audience about the problem of society’s growing reliance on artificial intelligence. In Reader Bot: What Happens When AI Reads and Why It Matters (Stanford University Press, January 2026), Baron details the many benefits of reading ourselves. “It helps motivate you to have faith in yourself to keep going,” she says. “If you stick with it, then it may be well worth it. That’s true of so many lessons in life.” The Bethesda writer hopes her book will encourage people to think critically about using AI: “You make your own choices,” she says. “Big tech does not have the right or necessity to make them for you.” 

More Recent Books by Local Authors

The Mighty Macy (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, February 2026) by Chevy Chase resident Kwame Alexander

The Cabbage Seed’s Colossal Secret (Tilbury House Publishers, February 2026) by Rockville resident Karen Greenwald 

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Storm at the Capitol: An Oral History of January 6th (PublicAffairs, January 2026) by Bethesda resident Mary Clare Jalonick 

Watch Us Fall (Simon & Schuster, December 2025) by Olney resident Christina Kovac

This appears in the March/April 2026 issue of Bethesda Magazine.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine