Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater

 

One teenage boy starts an Instagram account and posts shocking racist images and statements about his classmates including Black girls who consider him a friend. A handful of boys follow the account, some of them liking the posts and commenting on them. Not one of the boys stands up to stop the posts or to tell anyone about the account's existence. When screenshots of the racist posts go public, the victims of the account are devastated and the students in the small California town are outraged. The boys who participated are expelled, suspended, and/or left unable to attend school. Restorative circles turn violent, leaving the school open to lawsuits and lingering mistrust. All the while the victims of the hatred are shattered and living with pain and betrayal. Sasha Slater spent years following this story and interviewing the participants on all sides. This book is an absolute tour-de-force of nonfiction writing. It is compelling and engaging and written in short bursts that draw the reader in to the many perspectives she lays bare. This is absolutely one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read and it should be required reading for teenagers as well as for school administrators and teachers and people who care about what social media is doing to our society and our children. Recommended for 8th grade-up. 

Escape from Chernobyl by Andy Marino

I first read The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman, which got me interested in the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. I wanted to read more, so I picked up this action-packed book about various teenagers escaping, returning, surviving, and not surviving the famous nuclear reactor meltdown of 1986. Chernobyl was a large nuclear reactor located in what is now Ukraine, but at the time was part of the Soviet Union. The Soviet government did not want word to get out that their nuclear reactor had exploded, so rather than evacuate and try to save the lives of innocent people, they waited while pretending that there was not dangerous radiation in the air. This story follows a teen who works in the nuclear reactor as well as some others who live in the nearby city. I didn't feel a strong connection to the characters, but this was worth reading to learn about the Chernobyl disaster and how it affected young people. 
 

What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski

 

Anna Hunt is the new girl at East Middle School and she notices that there is something strange about her classmates and how they treat Rachel Riley. Not one person claps for Rachel's birthday when it is announced in the cafeteria--which makes Anna want to find out why Rachel, a formerly popular girl, has become the class outcast. Anna, who is an aspiring podcaster, finds herself in the midst of a mystery that includes a fire, anonymous notes, and a game that no one will talk about. The changing format--including some texts and podcast interviews, keeps the story moving along. Ultimately, this is a book about standing up against harassment and how individuals can make things better. Much like Maybe He Just Likes You, I recommend this book for 5th-7th graders, and I predict that girls will want to read it even though it is boys who might benefit the most from the story.