A new, thought-provoking piece of narrative nonfiction from the author of the award-winning
The 57 Bus is on the way to library shelves.
Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater
When a high school student started a private Instagram account that used racist and sexist memes to make his friends laugh, he thought of it as “edgy” humor. Over time, the edge got sharper. Then a few other kids found out about the account. Pretty soon, everyone knew.
Ultimately no one in the small town of Albany, California, was safe from the repercussions of the account’s discovery. Not the girls targeted by the posts. Not the boy who created the account. Not the group of kids who followed it. Not the adults—educators and parents—whose attempts to fix things too often made them worse.
In the end, no one was laughing. And everyone was left asking: where does accountability end for online speech that harms? And what does accountability even mean?
What’s New This Month
The newest book in the
Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is also on the way, along with some new Star Wars tales, some buzzworthy new graphic novels (both an original work and a new graphic adaptation), and new books from authors like Alice Oseman, Caleb Roehrig, Vanessa Len, Katharine McGee, Rachael Lippincott, Cherie Dimaline, and more.
What’s Hot This Month
Have you finished your Summer Reading challenge yet? There’s still time, with some of these audacious action titles to round out your reading during the warm months.
What We’re Reading
Here are some quotes from library staff about the books in the newest list of recommended picks:
They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody: “Familiar trope of fake dating, but with some surprising depth into the mental health effects of negligent parenting on the eldest caregiver child.”
My Happy Marriage by Akumi Agitogi: “It has the obligatory angst, but it's set during the Taisho-era which is a bit different. Oh, and there's superpowers.”
For more lists of recommended reads from the book world and beyond: