Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater explores a deeply unsettling event at a high school in Albany, California, where a private Instagram account filled with racist and sexist memes was discovered. As with her previous work, The 57 Bus, Slater encourages readers to confront not just individual actions but also the broader, systemic issues that contribute to such harmful behaviors.

The book dives into the complexities of the case, examining how the discovery of the Instagram account affected everyone involved: from the boy who created it to the followers who participated and the girls who were targeted. Slater doesn't shy away from tackling issues like racism, toxic masculinity, peer pressure, and the pervasive impact of social media. She raises critical questions about accountability, urging readers to consider the cultural and societal influences that shape young people's choices.

While I appreciated the thought-provoking questions and social commentary in Accountable, I found this book harder to get through than The 57 Bus. The nature of the case requires following a large cast of characters, which made the narrative drag in places. Around the halfway point, I found myself needing a break. However, Ariel Blake's excellent narration of the audiobook helped keep me engaged, bringing the voices and experiences of the individuals to life in a compelling way.

Overall, the story remains compelling and is a valuable read for teens, parents, and educators looking to understand the complexities of digital harm and its far-reaching consequences. Slater once again challenges us to think deeply, not just about individual responsibility but also about the environments that shape our actions. While it may not have resonated with me as strongly as her first book, Accountable is still a powerful and necessary read for 2023.

This shocking account of the events that unfolded at Albany High School in CA ultimately illustrates to me the enormous responsibility of today's educators: not only must they know their subjects, but they must also possess a basic understanding of adolescent development, psychology, and strong communication skills. Teaching content is the easy part of being a teacher, but owning and deploying the soft skills needed to educate and engage young adults is what makes being a teacher far more challenging than is generally acknowledged. The book reminds us that an incident that is not handled well from the very beginning can escalate into something so large and traumatizing for all involved that it leaves irreparable harm.

The events unfolded in 2017, at a time when language degraded and things were said publicly that would have been unimaginable just a few months earlier. “offensive humor” became a thing and circulated widely on social media. The deterioration of language, paired with teenage behavior where cracking each other up, pranking, and roasting one another were ways to find status and friendship, all played out on a “private” social media account (also a reminder that nothing is ever truly private on the internet). This backdrop is what sets the stage for what happened. It is completely and utterly impossible to imagine how the type of posts could have been interpreted as “funny,” but, again, it's a reminder that teenage psychology, if not corrected early on, can take horrifying shapes at times.

The last thing I want to mention about the book is that it will leave you unsettled and flabbergasted at how, in the name of justice, the judicial system fails the most vulnerable yet again.

This a page turning narrative nonfiction that stirred several emotions in me and gave me a lot to think about. I liked that the chapters were short and were told from multiple point of views. I just wished the book would have a dug a little deeper in addressing the misogyny that the female teens endured in this story. I also would have liked a deeper dive on how labeling someone racist affects their mental perceptions of themselves, but also giving voice to their actions. I would definitely suggest this title for a book club discussion for either teens or adults.

I've been waiting for a book like this!! Accountable digs into the racially motivated social media account at Albany High. The boys thought they were okay as the account was private. One thought it was okay since he followed but didn't interact. Many thought it was no big deal. Slater looks at the perspectives of the girls, that are friends of the account creator, being ridiculed, as well as the boys interacting with the account, bystanders, and the school. Most, in this small town, just want the situation to quietly go away. The not handlining of the situation threatens college acceptances, layers become involved. Once they realize the posting aren't harmless, why don't they stop? VERDICT A strong addition for high school libraries needing books dealing with the intersection of social justice and social media.

Accountable is about how a racist Instagram account affected a school and community. After reading Slater's previous book, The 57 Bus, I had high expectations for Accountable and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Accountable has the same artful storytelling coupled with deep research and portrayals of all involved that we saw in The 57 Bus and on another important, divisive topic. This would be an amazing text for book clubs, book groups, or any assignment where students can talk and process what they read. I can't recommend this book enough and how it is a MUST READ for everyone -- teachers, students, community members, parents, social media users, etc. I found it amazing and unique how Slater held back opinion or reflection on the events as much as possible, even humanizing all parties and helping us more deeply understand them. The only thing I yearned for was an update on the school and community at the end like Slater did for the people who were involved.

This was one of those audiobooks that I could not stop listening to. I had to know how it was going to end as soon as I started it. I can definitely see my patrons loving this book!

I really enjoyed reading The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater and was excited to read another YA nonfiction book that she investigated and wrote. I feel like Accountable is very important reading material for teens and I'm so glad it exists!

Accountable is the story of a raciest "joke" Instagram account made by a high school boy and the effect it had on him, his classmates who were the targets of his posts, and the classmates that followed, liked, and commented on the account. Much of the story is about how the school district failed to adequately address the issue, but Slater also addresses the long-lasting emotional devastation of the girls who were victimized, the personal and social reconning that the followers of the account had to go through, and the complex nature of social media i.e. are the students who only followed the account but never interacted with it as responsible for its devastating effects and it's continuation as followers who liked and commented.

I listened to the audiobook and thought it was really well done. The narrator was pleasant to listen to and nothing about the performance detracted from the book.

This is an interesting story about teenagers who made a racist private account and thought it would be funny to make racist comments about their “friends”. Like with most high school students word got around and the insulted parties found out about the post. Needless to say people were upset and although they were attempts to rectify the problem it seemed it was bound to explode and explode it did. I really found some of this book interesting I enjoyed getting to know about the different people in the story and I found the author really told the story where not to excuse the wrongdoers and or the injured but to explain the type of person they were in from where they came. I didn’t find everything the author said in the story was apropot to the plot or the narrative and found myself thinking about other stuff at the audiobook played on having said that I also think this concept of having to find accountability when someone states an opinion whether liked by the majority or not it’s ridiculous. This was on a public forum but was also on a private Account I do think although peoples feelings were hurt this is more reasons why we should teach our children to consider the source and find what they need for self-worth inside of their self and not what a couple of idiots say on Instagram I will be the first to say the posts were horrible and how could anyone say these people were their friends and put such derogatory things on their social media but in the end you are lost with just yourself so teach your children the difference between real friends and things they should pay attention to and things they shouldn’t. You will never find satisfaction looking for an apology or a fair return when you feel injured by someone else. I think it damage is a tile more when you teach them that someone else is responsible for their feelings then teaching them that it is up to them how they will go through the world. People will always be hurt by others you can never please all the people all the time life isn’t fair ETC not to mention what happened to free speech? I want to thank the author and net galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I read The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater when it was first released and I was blown away by it, so when I had the opportunity to read and review the audiobook of Accountable I jumped on it.

Personally, I found the writing style in this book to be more informative and less emotional than The 57 Bus. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I did have to adjust my expectations. I think I probably would have done better with this one as a physical book so that I could annotate and flip back through to previous passages.

With that said, I did find the book very thought-provoking and did ultimately experience various emotions as the telling of events unfolded. It’s really disappointing to think that things like this still happen today, but I think it’s really important for everybody (young people included) to be aware of. I like the way the author included commentary from different individuals involved because it really allowed readers to understand how deeply certain individuals were affects while also giving insight into how some perspectives were more limited and less changed.

The 57 Bus is one of those books that, as a teacher librarian, I always keep multiple copies of for teachers. Yes, for students also, but mostly for adults. Dashka Slater once again has done the impossible: she has transported me back to high school and made me think introspectively about myself as someone who works daily to be anti-racist.

Let's talk first about the narrator. I don't know what it is about this reader's voice but I CANNOT stop listening. She had me hooked from the first few minutes. Next, the author: Slater (as she says in her introduction) did not intent to write another book about problematic high schoolers and unjust situations high schoolers find themselves in, but here she is doing it again and it. is. brilliant. I have no idea how an adult writes so well and can extrapolate so convincingly on the inner-workings of multiple high school students, but as someone who works with this age group daily, I can honestly say that she does it with absolute skill. Not only that, she allows me to feel empathy FOR EVERY person she writes about.

I spent a lot of the time reading this looking at articles and cross-referencing the topic. I feel that it is safe to say that she touched this sensitive subject with grace and delicacy. I'm impressed by the narrative liberties she took and how truthful they were to the events that occurred.

I will DEFINITELY be buying this for my library, this is an amazing book

Accountable is the true story of a group of high school students involved in a series of racist social media posts. Dashka Slater, author of the award-winning book The 57 Bus, again did her homework when researching the events that are retold in this book. Through interviews, diary entries, and more, Slater urges readers to think about what it means to be held accountable for our actions. I loved that she recounted the events from multiple perspectives - both the perpetrator and the victims as well as school staff and parents. This would make a great literature/ELA pick for high school teachers.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) and NetGalley for a review copy of the book and audiobook.

Excellent, nuanced look at a case in Northern California's Bay Area in 2017 when a boy creates a private Instagram page for himself and his buddies and fills it with racist posts — and then the girls who are the targets (as well as their friends) discover it and everyone's lives are torn apart.

It's even better than the author's previous book, "The 57 Bus," also nonfiction, about a boy who liked wearing dresses and was set on fire by another student.

The author is a journalist, and she does a great job sharing the perspectives of the girls who were targeted and the boys who followed, liked and commented on the Instagram page. This is not easy to do, and the author masterfully navigates all the landmines that possible woke and anti-woke critics could lay for her.

Despite its YA label, it also doesn't dumb down the sociological and psychological data and theory that can shine a light on what happened. Even something as seemingly simple was "What is racism?" is handled freshly and smoothly here.

I liked how she explains how bystanders who pile-on with accusatory comments on social media are not speaking out in order to try to deter bad behavior but to signal their own virtuosity. Yes, yes, it's the "virtue signaling" label, but she talks about it in a way that doesn't shame those on the right and left who engage in it, but instead discusses it in a way that inspires the reader not to want to fall into the same trap.

And while it's not played up and not at all handled as an excuse, the point is made that teenage boys often make exaggerated, intentionally over-the-top offensive comments as a way to make their friends laugh. Again, it doesn't make what they did right, but it adds context that helps the reader understand what happened better.

The author also sprinkles in almost poetic riffs that channel a teenager's diary and that help convey the hurt and emotions the students are feeling.

Just fabulous, an excellent read.

#netgalley

Wow. This book was enlightening and an honest look at repercussions of a heinous postings on an Instagram page and how each person grew from the fallout of the situation. It brought up many issues of social media, race relations, how they're discussed and felt among different groups, fear and reaction. So many areas covered.
It was fascinating on a sociology level, horrifying on a human level and my teacher brain wants college kids to read this.

#netgalley
#arc
#accountable

This book tells the true story of a high school in which a group of high school students create a racist IG account and the fallout to the creator, followers, targeted students, parents, and the school. The author does an extraordinary job of maintaining the humanity of various participants and of following each thread (why particularly images are harmful, the difference between shame and guilt, etc) without losing the flow of the overall story. The book does not offer tidy endings or solutions but reminds us why it's crucial to keep pushing for a safer world even without them. This book will be a wonderful conversation starter with youth. But I am most eager to share it with adults who work and live with teens; particularly those who claim to not understand "what all the fuss it about" with contemporary racism.

It is still amazing to me that the person who writes about an adorable french snail is the same person who has penned some of the best teen-centric journalism of the past decade. Much like in "The 57 Bus", Slater gives us all the details of a hate crime in a way that truely breaks down who, what, and why the parties did and reacted the way they did. "Accountable" covers the story of the @Youngcabbage social media account that blew the California city of Albany straight to national news. The account, created by a junior at the high school and followed by other students, depicted racist memes against not just African Americans in general, but specifically targeting other students in the school. Slater is able to show how the social media landscape of the 2000's has created a whole new way for teens to get lost in their actions. While I was fully expecting to be firmly on the side of the victims, I never expected to even see the side of the "harmers", as the followers of the account were coined. The school system really did fail so many of the people involved with this case.

Dashka Slater is truly, in my small, but well read opinion, the Jon Krakauer of young adult journalism. I know she mentioned in the foreword that she did not plan on doing another non fiction title, and that these cases are emotionally draining, but I would (and will) read every one she deems fit to publish.

This should be recommended reading for everyone. The coverage of this story is so multifaceted, unbiased, and unflinching. There are areas with answers, and areas without. Questions are raised that aren’t answered, but are played through to their end results with first hand accounts on all sides.

The story was, at times, a bit slow paced, but that’s the reality of covering a true story as it plays out over years.

In addition to the book being well written and thorough, the audiobook narration was done very well. I cannot imagine reading parts of the story without letting my own thoughts and feelings be heard in my tone, but the narrator never let on, and remained professional for the entirety of the book.

4 stars

Reading Slater's _The 57 Bus_ impacted me so deeply that I expect I'll always want to pick up anything this author pens. While this book did not at all move me in the same way, I am glad I read it and will be fervently recommending it to my students.

When a racist social media account appears at a local high school in Albany, CA, (think Berkeley/Oakland/East Bay), everyone fails and/or is failed. This is the (at times too) lengthy exploration of the surrounding events.

This is a gritty but informative and important read, and any high school age kid will benefit from reading it. Adults can tell them constantly that what they do online will never go away, but this is a very good example of exactly how much one's poor choices, dumb mistakes, and the horrors of social media can coalesce to help you ruin your life and - most memorably - the lives of others.

Anyone familiar with Slater's aforementioned work may come into this expecting a different kind of depth than is available here, but that doesn't mean this book isn't also worth the read. It's not an easy journey, but it's a vital one.

Slater is a valuable contributor in this realm, and I'll continue to look forward to whatever this author generates next.