Accountable by Dashka Slater - HIGH

Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater, 472 pages NON FICTION Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (BYR), 2023. $19 

Language: R (63 swears 28 'f'); Mature Content: R (Racism, bullying, trauma, PTSD) Violence: PG (Broken arm) 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULT - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

HS Junior Charles starts a private instagram account with the sole purpose of amusing his friends; unfortunately, the humor that they've latched onto is disturbingly racist and sexist and often targets their own classmates. Soon, news of the account and its followers are leaked, and the girls who are victims of the account face the impact of betrayal, racism, and the accompanying trauma. This true story explores the fall-out of the event from disastrous reconciliation meetings, to riots, to national headlines. Slater presents all sides of the story and explores what to do when the worst happens after a "joke" is shown for the racism it is. 

The best thing about this book is how Slater manages to make you feel compassion and empathy for every person involved in the story. She never excuses the choices of the boys who made and followed the account, but she gives voice to their stories. She also unapologetically shares the trauma of what it's like to be a victim of racism and sexism. She addresses the science behind justice and punishment and how most - if not all - of these individuals are not rotten at their core. However, I would caution that HS teachers might want to keep an eye on who reads this book and perhaps follow-up with them; it has some heavy content. Nowadays, real accounts of racism are riddled with political tension, and that might make this book controversial. This books contains an ensemble group of Black, Asian-American, Latino, and LGBTQ+ students 

L Jones HS ELA Teacher