Thousand Words

April 1, 2013
When Ashleigh texts a naked picture of herself to her college-bound boyfriend, Kaleb, at an end-of-summer party before her junior year, she has no idea what she has unleashed. After an ugly breakup, Kaleb passes the picture around, and it immediately goes viral. Ashleigh is rapidly ridiculed, vilified, suspended, arrested, and sentenced to community service for distributing child pornography. Her father’s job as superintendent hangs in the balance, and her relationship with both parents is in tatters. Chapters move between Ashleigh’s present time in community service, where she creates anti-sexting PSAs and makes a much-needed ally, and the photo scandal as it unfolds in the past, heightening and prolonging the horror as more and more people see the photo, and Ashleigh is relentlessly mocked and harassed. Brown (Bitter End) brings her characteristic raw honesty to this wrenching story, examining the explosive fallout and repercussions of a spontaneous decision without moralizing. Ashleigh’s struggle to accept responsibility and cope with the ways she has been laid bare before her peers is sensitive and genuine. Ages 15–up. Agent: Cori Deyoe, 3 Seas Literary Agency.

June 1, 2013

Gr 9-11-When 10th-grader Ashleigh feels pressured by her friends into texting a full-frontal nude photo of herself to her college-freshman boyfriend, she believes that the picture is for his eyes only. But Kaleb distributes it to his contact list in revenge for her friends' pranks after the two break up. Ashleigh receives a trickle of mocking messages at first, but when the distribution expands and is posted on a website, an outraged community demands retribution. She is sentenced to community service, and Kaleb is faced with the possibility of being charged as a sex offender. Ashleigh's violation is keenly and sensitively rendered. Text messages, which get crueler with time, headline chapters. Chapters smoothly alternate between flashbacks revealing the chain of events and Ashleigh's time in community service. How and why she is sentenced are slowly revealed, adding intrigue to the story. As the teen begins to fight back against her tormentors and regains trust in her friends, there is hope that her situation will improve. The far-reaching consequences of impulsivity and of texting are made clear, but not in a preachy, heavy-handed, or overly dramatic way. Teens will relate to Ashleigh's feelings of humiliation, even if they've never experienced them to the same degree.-Jennifer Schultz, Fauquier County Public Library, Warrenton, VA

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