Common Sense Media Review
By Lucinda Dyer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Timely must-read true story about racism and social media.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
ACCOUNTABLE is set in Albany, California, a small, diverse, liberal community in the San Francisco Bay Area. In March 2017, an Instagram account started by Charles, a student at Albany High School, was discovered by some of the girls it targeted with racist language and memes. When the account is exposed, the girls who were targeted are shocked. The girls knew Charles, and the boys following the account are all friends or friends of friends, but the girls now believe the boys had been "thinking of them as monkeys and imagining them being lynched." The girls brought evidence of the account to school administrators, who organize a mediation session for Charles, the followers and the targeted students, but protestors gather outside the room, grow angry, shout threats at the boys, and police are called. Charles is expelled but the others receive short suspensions and soon return to school as pariahs. The girls struggle, some having nightmares, and one getting high to make it through the school day. Several of the account followers sue the school district for violating their First Amendment rights. Both the high school and the town are forever changed as their image of a diverse and accepting community is shattered. The book ends by jumping ahead to 2020, as readers learn what's become of some of the main figures in this story.
Is It Any Good?
This story offers an exceptional opportunity for teens and adults to talk about hate speech, discrimination, and when tolerance becomes complicity as well as the role of social media platforms in facilitating hate speech and discrimination. Readers shouldn't be intimidated by the length of Accountable, as the book is divided in short, briskly written chapters that feature multiple points of view. Teens will identify with many of the challenges faced by the diverse cast of characters -- being teased or bullied, feeling like you have to look like others to fit in, being betrayed by a friend, and recovering from an emotional trauma. So many lessons to gather from this well-researched and non-preachy book.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what Accountable showed them about having the courage to stand up and speak out against racism -- and the price that's often paid for that courage.
Do you think Charles and the followers of his Instagram account were really held accountable or should they have been given harsher punishments?
Have you ever encountered hate speech on social media? Did this story make you rethink the accounts you follow on social media?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Topics : Activism , School ( High School )
- Character Strengths : Courage
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Publication date : August 22, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 18
- Number of pages : 480
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Award : ALA Best and Notable Books
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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