This topic has been trending over the past couple of years, and some interesting books came of it:
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Good Girls: Laura Ruby
In the book, Audrey is in a consensual, private moment with a guy at a party. Without their knowledge, someone takes a cellphone photo that goes viral. The book explores how Audrey feels about herself after the incident, and what happens to her relationships with the guy, her friends, and her parents.
Pieces of Us: Margie Gelbwasser
I reviewed this on the blog. It's not exactly about a texting scandal, but a cell phone video does play a central role in the story. You can read my thoughts here.
Going Underground: Susan Vaught
Del and his girlfriend trade cellphone photos and, because of a grey area in the law, he ends up charged as a sex offender for having the photos on his phone. The book begins after the incident, as he's working in a cemetery, trying to put his life back together.
This Beautiful Life: Helen Schulman (not YA but about teens)
This book explores the repercussions after a disturbed girl sends a risqué cell video to a male classmate and the photo goes viral. The boy who forwarded the photo faces expulsion from school, sending the lives of his high-achieving parents into a tailspin. I didn't find any of the characters very sympathetic, but the book does raises some interesting questions.
Next week's topic: If You Liked The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
If you have any similar titles to recommend, let me know!
Exposure by Therese Fowler is another great one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation!!
DeleteThese sound interesting. I don't think I've read any books about texting/sexting scandals, but now I might.
ReplyDeleteGreat -- I love the themed books thing. It's like a brain puzzle for me!
DeleteI actually really like books that deal with this because it's such a huge problem among teens. I feel like they have a great message and moral for teens who pick them up and read them. I haven't read any of those but I did read and LOVED Never Been Kissed by Melody Carlson. I think its technically YA Inspirational but it was realllly GOOD!
ReplyDeleteGood point. And, a huge problem among some adults too. Sometimes what seems like a good idea at the time just .... isn't.
DeleteThanks for the recommendation!!
I haven't read any books centering around this topic, but those sound interesting. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly a current theme. It's a wonder there are not more books written about the subject.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of any other books that deal with this topic. :(
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any books with this theme but these sound great to be able to make a point of being careful what you doing with guys and also knowing what can happen with what's being sent on a cellphone, even if you think it's harmless.
ReplyDeleteI just put Going Underground on my TBR list. Definitely a timely topic, especially with age of consent laws varying state by state and how stupid people become depending on the proximity of a cell phone. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLet me know what you think!
DeleteI'm always happy to see a guy narrator, and I agree, the laws as described in this book seem like a crazy double standard -- even though Del's girlfriend also has photos of him on her phone, he gets the book thrown at him, and she gets off.