#scandal by Sarah Ockler | Book Review
Hello all! Welcome to #scandal Week! Have you read this page-turner yet? If not, I highly recommend that you do! It's totally entertaining, but also packs a whammy of hard-hitting truth. Over the next four days I'm going to talk about #scandal inside and out. Today, let's start with an overview of the book and an introduction to the main character, Lucy!
First, let's talk about Lucy! Just like all the characters in the book, I could talk about Lucy for days. I, however, would talk much more kindly about her: I love her strength throughout the book, and I love seeing her character grow. I was totally impressed that she continued to attend school, and that she never buckled under the bullying. I really doubt I would've been that strong! The day after prom, when #scandal hit? I would've been curled up in a ball in bed! Not only does she get up and go into school, but she doesn't complain to anyone or do any "woe is me." And yet, and this is hard to explain, she also isn't unrealistically over-confident. She even takes some of the blame on her own shoulders, and tries to apologize to her best friend. She doesn't pass the blame to the phone theft when it comes to Ellie: she does a good thing and approaches her to apologize.
So let's back up just a little, and talk about the plot! By now you're dying to know who was scandalized, aren't you? The premise of #scandal: Lucy goes to prom with her best friend's boyfriend, as a favor. (BFF is home with the flu.) Lucy and best friend's boyfriend kiss. Lucy's phone is stolen, and lots of incriminating pictures from prom and the afterparty (including a picture of Lucy and best friend's boyfriend together) are posted to Facebook. Lucy is bullied horrifically in the backlash.
Now, I'm an adult reading this YA melodrama... I was straight up saddened by the bullying. I really hate that this is what happens with teens now. I couldn't imagine having to go through high school knowing that everyone has phones with cameras, and at any moment some embarrassing picture could be taken of me and posted to social media! I'd be totally paranoid, like the members of club (e)vil. (A school club that's anti-technology.) Remember that time in high school when you sat in ketchup/had toilet paper stuck to your shoe/misbuttoned your shirt? What if that moment had been photographed, tagged with your name, and shared on social media? Now you're in your twenties and that image comes up when your potential new boss Googles your name. YIKES. So I found myself getting very righteously upset on Lucy's behalf! How dare somebody steal her phone and hack her Facebook! I was only about twenty pages in, and felt like I already knew Lucy well enough to know that she would never post those pictures herself!
Keep reading... I so encourage you to go find a copy of #scandal to read. You'll see that not all is black and white, right and wrong, in cyberspace. Is Lucy really as innocent (or evil) as you first think? Part mystery, part drama, all engaging... #scandal is a must-read. Check back tomorrow to read more!
*Cover image taken from www.goodreads.com