Accountable The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed — Content Guide for Parents
Themes present
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Religious themes
PRESENTContains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.
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?
“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
Frequently asked questions
Is Accountable The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed appropriate for a 7-year-old?
The book discusses a private Instagram account that shared racist and sexist memes, which included violent and degrading imagery directed at classmates. The narrative highlights the emotional and social fallout from these actions. No scary content detected in the search results.
Does Accountable The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed have violence?
The book discusses a private Instagram account that shared racist and sexist memes, which included violent and degrading imagery directed at classmates. The narrative highlights the emotional and social fallout from these actions.
Does Accountable The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed have scary content?
No scary content detected in the search results.
Does Accountable The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed have religious themes?
No religious content detected in the search results.
Does Accountable The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed have racial/cultural content?
The book centers on a racist social media account created by high school boys that targeted predominantly Black and Black biracial girls, exploring themes of racism and its impact on the community.
Does Accountable The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed have profanity?
The book contains profanity, including the N-word and other strong language such as 'f--k', 's--t', and 'bitch', reflecting the language used in the social media context discussed.
Does Accountable The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed have climate change?
No climate themes detected in the search results.
Does Accountable The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed have sexual identity?
The narrative includes references to sexual content, mentioning that sex between high school students is referred to but not described, and that sexist memes were part of the Instagram account's content.
Does Accountable The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed have gender roles?
The book touches on themes of masculine bravado and the implications of gender dynamics within the context of the racist and sexist content shared on social media.
Does Accountable The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed have lgbtq+ themes?
No LGBTQ+ themes detected in the search results.
