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In a fast-paced and compelling narrative, Dashka Slater clearly explains complex topics, from restorative justice and racial pseudoscience to high school social dynamics and 2010s Instagram norms. This book is extraordinary for its nuance and thorough reporting as well as its artistry. I tore through this in two days because I was so emotionally invested in the people involved and in what happened next.
I feel like a jerk saying this, but this would probably be a really good choice for required middle school or high school summer reading. I would highly recommend it for anyone on social media, anyone interested in restorative justice, any teenager, anyone who regularly interacts with teenagers, and anyone interested in the local politics of the Bay Area.
I also want to shout out the section explaining the history of "race realism", why race does not have a scientific basis, and why people think it does anyway. It's a GREAT intro to the topic and I will be recommending it as teaching material to the people I know who teach introductory biology classes.
Why it's not a full 5 stars for me:
- I liked the modernist, polystylistic narrative structure. However, some of the attempts at poetry fell painfully flat for me.
- I wanted more about Wyatt. I understand that the book was limited by which students were interested in being interviewed, and that some students asked to be mentioned as little as possible, and I respect the author for honoring that. However, the book really needed some space set aside to explore the fact that Wyatt was one of the kids brutally mocked by the bigoted Instagram account, but because he also followed the account, he was treated exclusively as a perpetrator. Also I would have appreciated it if the book had explained what the ableist slurs used against Wyatt actually meant, because I had to explain that to my mom.
- This is nitpicking, but my former research mentor said I'm required to correct people about this: this book describes the eugenicist Watson as "one-half" of the team that discovered DNA. Depending on your historical interpretation, he is, at best, one-third of the discovery team, and, at worst, one-half of the team that stole the discovery from Rosalind Franklin.
I feel like a jerk saying this, but this would probably be a really good choice for required middle school or high school summer reading. I would highly recommend it for anyone on social media, anyone interested in restorative justice, any teenager, anyone who regularly interacts with teenagers, and anyone interested in the local politics of the Bay Area.
I also want to shout out the section explaining the history of "race realism", why race does not have a scientific basis, and why people think it does anyway. It's a GREAT intro to the topic and I will be recommending it as teaching material to the people I know who teach introductory biology classes.
Why it's not a full 5 stars for me:
- I liked the modernist, polystylistic narrative structure. However, some of the attempts at poetry fell painfully flat for me.
- I wanted more about Wyatt. I understand that the book was limited by which students were interested in being interviewed, and that some students asked to be mentioned as little as possible, and I respect the author for honoring that. However, the book really needed some space set aside to explore the fact that Wyatt was one of the kids brutally mocked by the bigoted Instagram account, but because he also followed the account, he was treated exclusively as a perpetrator. Also I would have appreciated it if the book had explained what the ableist slurs used against Wyatt actually meant, because I had to explain that to my mom.
- This is nitpicking, but my former research mentor said I'm required to correct people about this: this book describes the eugenicist Watson as "one-half" of the team that discovered DNA. Depending on your historical interpretation, he is, at best, one-third of the discovery team, and, at worst, one-half of the team that stole the discovery from Rosalind Franklin.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment
Minor: Pedophilia
This book describes the type of content you might find if you went looking for 4chan screenshots on Instagram. The focus is mostly on the thoughts and feelings of the kids affected, and I would strongly recommend this book to people who have been affected by racist harassment.