Stand-up comedian Bo Burnham steps off the stage and behind the camera with his writing/directing debut, an unsentimental, non-glamorized look at what it means to be a 13-year-old today.

Kayla is an introverted middle schooler desperate to come out of her shell during the last weeks of eighth grade. Despite her self-motivational YouTube videos, Kayla’s struggles with loneliness, self doubt, and anxiety are heartbreakingly, realistically hopeless. But Eighth Grade ends with a glimmer of possibility.

As Kayla say, “It’s, like, whatever: middle school wasn’t so great for me, but I’m past it now, and I’m moving forward.”