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

Another really ambitious, effective YA nonfiction book—I’ve been happy to read several this year. Dashka Slater is trying to accurately represent a controversy at a California high school, threading out the details of a very tense, convoluted series of events and making them clear. But she also takes on the larger project of trying to analyze how racism functions in American society, especially in adolescent male culture. The book accomplishes both, admirably. Accurately recounting what happened at Albany High School would have been challenge enough. The book has to follow a pretty broad cast of teenagers, educators, parents, and administrators, not to mention occasional involvement from law enforcement, other schools, and members of the much broader community. Slater takes the risky approach of returning to the same events from multiple perspectives—which might easily have become a muddled, inscrutable mess, but I think she handled it well. The timeline remains clear, and the individuals involved are about as easy to keep straight as they could reasonably be, with such a mix. More importantly, the technique does effectively reveal how the same event can land differently for the various people involved. But perhaps the most impressive aspect of the book is its handling of the more fundamental issues—not least, the crucial distinction between individual and systemic racism. Without losing sight of the personal choices that led to some truly obnoxious acts of racism, Slater also shifts attention toward the racially disparate impact of actions (and institutions), regardless of intent. I especially appreciate the lightness of her touch on this issue—she makes the distinction clear, then calls on the reader to consider and to draw their own conclusions. There is a constant struggle apparent in the narrative, among various considerations: personal responsibility, individual & community impact, the possibilities for repair and redemption, etc. At the same time, Slater is appropriately hesitant to put too much weight on the shoulders of the “harmers” in this community. These are adolescents who, in a particular context, did something reprehensible. As the book takes the time to point out, this may not be the best situation for addressing the entirety of America’s racial tensions. But Slater does use it to explore the terrain, and I think she succeeds. And having discussed the book with my adolescent son, I’m impressed with how well she was able to present this for that particular audience. There are things I might have liked to see more of—I wish she had more thoroughly examined the potential of restorative justice in this situation, for example, and the ways that the school and the community utterly squandered that opportunity for genuine reparation. She also might have done more to examine other aspects of privilege—in particular, gender and class. The intersection of race and gender was apparent in some of these offenses, for instance, and the book leans harder on the racial aspects. But overall, I truly have few significant complaints. Slater manages to use a fully detailed local story to illuminate much larger questions, without reducing the individuals to mere representations or types. It’s a timely, ambitious piece of work, and solidly successful.

A very well written book that gives readers a great understanding of what social media can become. I am always intrigued by books that are true stories, and knowing that during when I was reading, it made my jaw drop a few times! I loved reading this book and think it holds a very important lesson.

A very impactful account about high school students in 2017 who were involved in an Instagram account created to post racist memes. Fast paced and very well written, Slater did an amazing job researching and writing. The creation of social media has severely shaped several generations and it’s not getting better. My middle schooler will be reading this. Book #66 in 2024