I have read some really amazing nonfiction this year. Accountable was published last Tuesday. I picked it up on Friday night and finished it Saturday morning. It was amazing.
Dashka Slater's 57 Bus has been well reviewed since its publication several years ago. In my opinion, Accountable is even better than that.
A student creates an Instagram account where he posts racist pictures. There are only thirteen followers to this account and each post seems a bit more offensive than the one before. Of course this isn't something that can remain a secret to just the thirteen followers and one of them eventually tells other students about it. And once it gets out, there are consequences for everyone involved.
Of course, the victims of these posts, fellow students and friends, have to deal with the trauma of being singled out and the hurt that goes with it. But what I hadn't thought about prior to Slater following up with the people involved with the Instagram account, is how long the consequences of their actions would continue to impact them.
This is a book I am going to be thinking about for a long time. I've already ordered copies that I hope to read with a book club at school. It's a book I think all educators, parents and students need to read and discuss.
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