Backlash

by Sarah Darer Littman Narrated by Lauren Ezzo, Ramon De Ocampo

Overview

In critically acclaimed author Sarah Darer Littman's gripping novel, what happens online doesn't always stay online....

Lara just got told off on Facebook.

She thought that Christian liked her, that he was finally going to ask her to his school's homecoming dance. It's been a long time since Lara's felt this bad, this depressed. She's worked really hard since starting high school to be happy and make new friends.

Bree used to be BBFs with overweight, depressed Lara in middle school, but constantly listening to Lara's problems got to be too much. Bree's secretly glad that Christian's pointed out Lara's flaws to the world. Lara's not nearly as great as everyone thinks.

After weeks of talking online, Lara thought she knew Christian, so what's with this sudden change? And where does he get off saying horrible things on her wall? Even worse — are they true?

But no one realized just how far Christian's harsh comments would push Lara. Not even Bree. As online life collides with real life, the truth starts to come together and the backlash is even more devastating than than anyone could have imagined.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for Backlash"This is a powerful and credible story that illustrates the perils of immature decisions andexplores the wide-reaching ripple effect of destructive actions thought by the perpetrators as 'fun.'" —Booklist"Littman pens a raw, frighteningly realistic, and absorbing look at cyberbullying and the damaging effects of airing private trauma in a public forum." —Publishers Weekly"This novel thoughtfully balances the four alternating perspectives, giving an element of humanity even to the perpetrators of severe bullying while maintaining a strong moral judgment." —School Library JournalPraise for Want to Go Private?"A bold investigation of a potentially lethal, if common, mixture for teen girls: emotional immaturity, technology, and emerging sexuality." —Los Angeles Times"Littman pens a harrowing cautionary tale about the dangers that lurk online." —Publishers Weekly"This book is a compelling, if not disturbing, read." —School Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews

2014-12-06
Cyberbullying and a suicide attempt, told from four first-person perspectives.The dramatic opening finds 15-year-old Lara, "numb with hurt and panic," talking online with a boy named Christian, her first romance, though she knows him only online. He's calling her awful, terrible, a loser he'd never take to a dance. "The world would be a better place without you in it," he types and promptly blocks her. Next, Lara's sister, Sydney, an eighth-grader, pounds on a locked door behind which Lara has overdosed. As emergency workers carry Lara out on a stretcher, next-door neighbor Bree (also 15) snaps a pic and posts it to Facebook, reveling in the many "likes" it draws. The timeline rewinds two months; Lara, Syd, Bree and Bree's eighth-grade brother, Liam, alternate narrating. The two families used to be close, and Bree and Lara even used to be good friends. The prose is smooth, though the piece overall is more about ideas—cyberbullying and suicide—than any unique characterization of these white, suburban teens. The parents range from self-centered to actively cruel—Bree's mother helps Bree fool and taunt Lara—and even Syd repeatedly considers her sister's pain to be "drama." The four-narrator structure isn't entirely emotionally illuminating: Bree never quite makes sense as a character even in her own chapters. More conceptual than distinct, but accessible and potentially useful. (author's note) (Fiction. 12-16)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171303365
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	02/19/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

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