This is an amazing book. It lays out what can happen with the internet. Ezra is a kid that most kids can relate to---not perfect, but not a bad kid. He makes a little mistake, and it slowly grows into a big problem. It will show the kids what happens if they forget what goes on the internet stays on the internet. This will work much better than a dozen lectures.

This review is based on an ARC

Ezra is looking forward to a school trip and 5th grade graduation. But even more than that, he is looking forward to getting a cell phone for his birthday. He’s the last of his friends to get one. When posting a picture of two chicken nuggets stuck together that look like a butt gets him likes on Instagram, he wants to continue the trend and become more popular. Except that internet fame is fleeing, and it escalates.

Like several other books I’ve reviewed, I wish this were a book that didn’t need to be written. But internet safety is a real issue, and kids need to know the legal and social ramifications of their actions, and this is an age appropriate way to introduce and explain this to kids.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Amy E. Feldman, and the publisher of this book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ezra is living high on life. He's about to graduate fifth grade, kids think he is funny at school, and it's almost his birthday. Everything changes when Ezra gets a phone for his birthday. He's now able to text his friends when he wants, check on his beloved Phillies, and post funny pictures on social media. Soon though, a funny post turns out to not be so funny and turns into a serious consequence for Ezra.

I thought this book was very good and so important for current times. Kids are getting phones younger and younger. As a teacher, that bothers me because I do not feel that kids are necessarily ready for phones at a young age. I think before any child has a phone, it is important for them to understand the good things phone can do, but also the things that can go wrong. I think Ezra gave a good example of things phones should not be used for. I hope this book with help teachers and parents teach their young children the importance of phone safety and smart digital citizenship.

Damn...why do all the embarrassing middle grade stories remind me so much of my own childhood? Some parts are totally cringey... getting so hyper about phone and social media. That's totally me. And the voices that told me that I was so addicted to texting and social media still echo. And I cringe while reading this book. It should not be this relatable!

I find the writing really fun and the main character relatable funny! It's a quick read and the plot lives up to the blurb. I appreciate this!

And yes, after all the drama things do end well for Ezra!

Absolutely waiting for the book to come out.

Thank you, Blackstone Publishing, for the advance review copy.

I love the cover so much!

This middle grade chapter book tells the story of Ezra, a boy who gets his first cell phone at the end of 5th grade and makes some pretty big mistakes when it comes to safe internet practices. To combat some teasing he shares a picture of his butt with a friend at school to prove he doesn't have a "beaver butt", but after the picture gets spread around through texts to other students in his class, things quickly go from bad to worse. This book is innocent, yet tells a very important message about sharing pictures through text and social media, and the importance of privacy and safety on the internet. The book also shares the range of consequences that can come from making these kinds of choices, from losing privileges to police involvement to being fired for sending inappropriate texts at work. The story also looks at bullying and the importance of talking to safe adults. As far as sexual content, the book uses the word butt a lot and does describe the aforementioned incident where a nude butt picture was shared but there were no other graphic details. There is also a reference to a girl's chest saying something like "some parts weren't still skinny" and a boy tapping his chest. There are also a few sex ed type lessons, including a vague description of what the students were seeing such as "male private parts", reference to hair growing on private parts and the word vas deferens. Finally the boys find out that while they were learning about male reproduction the girls were given maxipads and discussing their periods. I think this book would be appropriate for students in the grade 5-8 range, but I do wish that there was a little less description of some of those sex ed topics. Middle grade students are so easily freaked out about these topics and while I totally agree with the messages about sexuality and privacy, I do think the author could have been a bit more subtle with what the students were learning. I would love to read this book to my class to teach about internet safety and bullying, but I think I would have to censor some of it for my grade 3 students. I would recommend it more for later middle grade or middle school teachers, but I really think the messages are important for students as young as mine! Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

I found this book to have many learning points about teaching for safety and have boundaries within the home. I did however find the book a bit lagging in spots and would like to have heard from Mathew and his parents. The author stressed his evolvement and his actions a few times and some closure would be nice.

Ezra finally gets a phone for his 10th birthday and starts posting funny pictures on Instagram, but when he takes his jokes a step too far he has some lessons to learn.

Ezra and his friends seemed to be written in a text book “this is how elementary/middle school boys behave kind of way”.

But I think it’s a good book on teaching kids the safety of what should and shouldn’t be put online, especially since I think “the internet is forever” or internet safety in general aren’t spoken of as often anymore with kids.

Thank you to Net Galley for making this book available in exchange for an honest review!

Ezra Exposed tells the story of 10 year old Ezra who gets a phone for the first time. He starts posting funny photos of foods, especially fruits, that look like butts and gets attention on social media and from his peers at school for it. When he takes things a little too far, Ezra gets a lesson in internet safety and being careful with what he does on his phone. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and thought it would be a great read for any middle grade reader because of the important lesson it shows. Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC and the opportunity to share my opinions on the book!

This book is highly accessible for a late elementary school audience. Ezra relieves a smart phone for his birthday. He is quickly influenced by the rush of getting likes and popularity from his instagram posts. Unfortunately, he takes the joke a little too far and things get out of control.

The children of the book spoke and behaved in ways appropriate for their ages. This book would be a great talking point for parents with their children about so many learning moments. These include internet safety, peer pressure, puberty, and work ethic.
Although I would not use this with a whole class, I would recommend parents to read this with the students as they head to middle school. This will help your family approach these issues in a way that is “risk-free” for everyone.