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 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Top 8
- By Katie Finn
- Genre: School
Common Sense Media says
Cautionary teen tale of gossip and social networking sites.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there are some discussions on making out, hooking up, and underage drinking. The majority of the story, however, involves the reprecussions of gossip and Web 2.0.
What's the story?
Madison sets off for spring break safe in the knowledge that she's got great friends, a cute boyfriend, and an active social life. She dreads the time away from her cell phone and computer access will be almost non-existent, but she's almost made peace with not being able to log on to her Friendverse account. When she returns home, she realizes her site has been hacked and all of her secrets are out there for the world to see. The fall-out is epic. Friendships are ruined, relationships busted up, and Madison's world is upside down. Now she's got to find and stop whomever is doing this, get her boyfriend back, and try to make it up to her friends.
Is it any good?
Online bullying has gotten a lot of attention lately and for good reason. Bullies can do a lot of harm without coming near another student in school, which makes this book timely and helpful. It also shows teens the dangers of allowing too much information and faith placed in social networking sites. Author Katie Finn does a great job in highlighting the fast pace and often frantic environment teens have within their online community. Timeless vices like gossiping, jealousy, and frienemy releationships are magnified and information is forwarded at a pace that provides too many kids with opportunities for instant notoriety. The dialog is authentic, sounding very much like conversations one might overhear at the local coffee shop after school, while the cat-and-mouse game Madison plays with whomever is out to destroy her keeps the audience interested.
What doesn't work is Madison's character. While she learns great lessons on honesty and how to put friendship above popularity, she still isn't completely likeable. Though there is character growth, she's still pretty narcassistic and can be mean. Who knows if the author meant for her to have some residual entitlement issues, but it can get annoying. But overall TOP 8 is a great book on what NOT to do in the world of social networking.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about the importance of being honest with your friends. How does the saying "Never say anything about a friend that you wouldn't say to their face" apply to Madison's situation? How did Madison gain the respect and trust of her friends back? Families can also talk about social networking Web sites. How do sites like MySpace, Facebook, etc., affect social happenings in school? Have you heard of anyone beling bullied online? What can teens do to model responsible Web use?
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- Teens & kids
Teen, 13 years old
March 1, 2009
AGE
"loved it"
great book ok at the 1st chapters but then once you get in the middle of it its really good i couldnt put it down!
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Parent of 13 and 13 year old
May 16, 2009
AGE
It was okay, very funny but some iffy stuff.
My daughter has read this a number of times, so one day I wanted to see why she liked it so much. After finishing it, I was horrified. Madison's profile gets hacked by her best friend, Ruth. There is a lot of talk of hooking up, drinking and gossip.
Although it was funny at parts, it was not a very nice book and I will make sure that before Sophi reads another book about internet bullying or hacking, I will read it first.
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Teen, 13 years old
September 3, 2009
AGE
Amazing! ( :
Love it, it took me like 3 days to read! it was great... ( : the book shows you to choose your friends wisely because not all of them are good influences!
What other families should know:
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Teen, 14 years old
September 14, 2009
AGE
love the book i read it last year
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Teen, 13 years old
September 18, 2011
AGE
Nope, sorry
Honestly, I didn't really like this book. It just seemed so unrealistic. All the teenagers have really expensive cars, they all talk like either: idiots, or college professors. Also, the outcome of the story was really predictable. I would recommend this to my 10 year old sister because the story written like something a 10 year old would read, but it talked about drinking and hooking up too much.
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Teen, 17 years old
July 24, 2009
AGE
Good, but bad!:P
AMESOME book. Teaches you about hacking, but has some language, sexual content,gossip, and drinking parts. But turns out to be ok in the end.
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Teen, 13 years old
October 2, 2009
AGE
This book was really good! It was fun to read and just overall was great.
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Kid, 12 years old
November 21, 2011
AGE
Good read!
This book is a really good! I read it and I'm only 12! It talks to the issues when you sign up on a social network site and the bad things about it. Such as getting your profile hacked.
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Teen, 13 years old
July 18, 2010
AGE
I loved this book it really teaches you how to be careful with your privacy settings, and what you say behind someones back can be just as hurtful as putting it on the internet. However consumerism is in this book while the main character states the expensive cars that her four bff's have
What other families should know:
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Teen, 16 years old
December 29, 2010
AGE
Good for teens to read!!!!
I think it was a good book!! People should take time to read it especially teens!! The message it gives is very important!!! I loved it!!!
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| Author: | Katie Finn |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | School |
| Publisher: | Point |
| Publication date: | October 1, 2008 |
| Number of pages: | 244 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 12 - 14 |
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