Accountable by Dashka Slater

Accountable

The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed

Dashka Slater

Farrar Straus & Giroux · Print & ebook · August 22, 2023

YALSA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION WINNER California Book Award Winner J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize Winner From the New York Times-bestselling author of The 57 Bus comes Accountable, a propulsive and thought-provoking true story about the revelation of a racist social media account that changes everything for a group of high school students and begs the question: What does it mean to be held accountable for harm that takes place behind a screen? “Powerful, timely, and delicately written.” —Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times–bestselling and National Book Award-winning author 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.

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Who it’s for
A propulsive true story invites hard questions about online harm and what accountability can mean.
Themes
Accountability for online harm, Racism and sexism, Consequences of online speech
Pacing
Fast

About this book

YALSA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION WINNER California Book Award Winner J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize Winner From the New York Times-bestselling author of The 57 Bus comes Accountable, a propulsive and thought-provoking true story about the revelation of a racist social media account that changes everything for a group of high school students and begs the question: What does it mean to be held accountable for harm that takes place behind a screen?

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“Powerful, timely, and delicately written.” —Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times–bestselling and National Book Award-winning author 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? Award-winning and New York Times–bestselling author Dashka Slater has written a must-read book for our era that explores the real-world consequences of online choices. More Awards and Accolades for Accountable: Russell Freedman Award Winner Northern California Book Award Winner CALIBA's Golden Poppy Book Award Winner An Evergreen Teen Book Award High School Nominee A SCBWI Golden Kite Honor for Nonfiction Text for Older Readers An Illinois Lincoln Readers' Choice Award Nominee A Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award High School Category Nominee A Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award Nominee A Massachusetts Teen Choice Book Award Nominee A Vermont Green Mountain Book Award Nominee A Texas Topaz Reading List Selection A Texas Library Association TAYSHAS Top Ten Book A Florida Teens Read List Selection A Missouri Association of School Librarians Dogwood Reading List Selection

Speech and Consequence

A propulsive true story invites hard questions about online harm and what accountability can mean.

Come here for

  • A close look at how online choices affect real people
  • The difficult question of who is responsible for harm

Expect

  • A thought-provoking account involving students, families, and educators
  • No easy answers about accountability

Where it sits

Prejudice & Racism for Teens90%
School & Education for Teens34%
Activism & Social Justice29%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • School & Education for Teens
  • Bullying for Teens
  • Prejudice & Racism for Teens
Authors
Dashka Slater
Publisher
Farrar Straus & Giroux
Published
August 22, 2023
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Accountability for online harm · Racism and sexism · Consequences of online speech
Reading lane
School & Education for Teens