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#truestory
review
haylee.roach10
Pickpick

I would 100% use this book as a mentor text. If it didn‘t fit into the schedule, it would be kept on the bookshelf and recommended to every student for non-fiction find. Students don‘t always like the idea of non fiction so this book is a great chance to show them how relevant it is to them and how it can be interesting. Slater‘s writing style is encouraging and fresh for young audiences.

review
haylee.roach10
Pickpick

Charles is representative of individuals who exist everywhere and more harmful than most can imagine. I'm so glad Slater draws attention to what happened in the context of how it happened. But not only did she focus on Charles but she really gave the entire narrative of events context and due diligence to ensure that the points were made accurately and fairly. There‘s a lot to say about integrity there.

review
haylee.roach10
Pickpick

I

blurb
tylera_
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I wanted a little more from the perspectives of the girls who were targeted, but I get what the book is doing. It‘s trying to show how a whole culture can create space for this kind of thing to happen. Still, the strong focus on the perpetrators rather than the victims felt a bit odd to me. I think hearing the girls' stories would add another layer to an already dense situation.

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tylera_
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This is the kind of book that gets stuck in your head. Not even entirely because of what happened, but because it keeps asking the reader to think. What does it mean to be responsible? What happens when people get hurt and there is no easy fix? I kept pausing to think about my own high school and how things played out there, both in my personal life and in the lives of people I know.

blurb
tylera_

The short chapters and shifting voices made the book easier to digest, even when the topic is rather heavy. I didn't breeze through it, but I don't think that's the point. Slater takes her time showing how complicated accountability can be for teens trying to belong. Being from a small town with a lot of racism present, I have seen firsthand how that sort of hate gets taught and passed down from generation to generation.

review
jkmac9717
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Pickpick

One of the few nonfiction books I've actually liked recently! It reads like a 60 Minutes documentary and does a great job at keeping readers engaged and invested with real people. No sides are TAKEN, but each side has a story REPRESENTED well. There are so many valuable lessons/info. about racism, the impacts of social media, and how people in a community are all connected. I would definitely have this in my classroom; there's so much to learn!

annagsears Yes, Jenna! This was one of my favorite books we read in this class, and it appealed to the non-fiction hater in me. It's an excellent example as well from a journalism point of view, where unbiased information is shared on specific events. Not gonna lie, I've already stamped this book immediately to put in my classroom! 3h
Makyah 100% I also appreciated how the author spent just as much time sharing the experience of the account followers side as well! This story was told in a very well rounded way and you could really see the outcomes of both sides clearly which is very important! 2h
2 comments
quote
jkmac9717
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“The thing that made it so surreal was that everybody knew each other...“ (p. 233). — The interconnectivity of every person and event in this book makes it even more of a microcosm of how social media can impact the greater community too. It gives an important lesson for students on how their actions impact others whether they know it or not. There's a lot of lessons to make here involving relationship dynamics, cause and effect, and social media!

haylee.roach10 Yes I agree Jenna!! This was such a cool feature that Slater points out. It's a really valuable thing to point out to students and provide some context into the harmful nature of social media when used wrong. The details shared reveal a community and we need to realize we are all apart of communities and what it would mean if everyone understood the impact of their involvement on socials. 3h
1 comment
blurb
jkmac9717
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Aside from the obvious topic of racism, I noticed the author discussing gender with the account's poster and followers. Their choices were often brushed aside b/c they were “just boys being dumb“ and trying to adhere to the dynamics of male friend groups, but this is not an excuse of their actions toward (primarily) women of color. With this, students could explore how privileged vs. nonprivileged identities experience these scenarios differently.

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sammiegdeas
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The realness of this novel is a quality unlike the type of novels I read in middle and high school, but it is so desperately needed in those spaces. In an age of technological advances, including an explosion of social media platforms, YA readers need to understand the inherent risks and potential consequences that accompany social media usage. I believe that Slater suitably addresses the real-world impacts of likes, comments, posts, reposts, etc.

jkmac9717 I totally agree! I found myself shocked at times as I kept coming to the realization that this was REAL, and I think this would serve as a wake-up call for our students about what could ACTUALLY happen if they are irresponsible with their social media interactions. I think Slater did a great job representing these impacts with a “case study,” but this book could also be great to pair with a research paper or a documentary like The Social Dilemma! 4h
haylee.roach10 Yes this book was so much different than typical nonfiction we were exposed to. However, Slater sets a standard for engaging young audiences with non fiction. The topic itself is interesting but even more the issues addressed are real and relatable. Kids today have constantly been around social media and for a lot of them it is an every day part of life so for someone to explain through a narrative how dangerous it can be is so influential. 3h
2 comments