Award-winning journalist Dashka Slater (The 57 Bus) brilliantly dissects a true-crime story, exhibiting its different parts for readers and presenting a balanced narrative that illustrates the nuances inherent in all interpersonal interactions, whether in person or online. Accountable centers on a teen's private social media account, where he posts racist and sexist content for the entertainment of his friends.
One afternoon Charles, a 17-year-old Korean American, creates what his male friends view as a humorous meme. At his friends' urging, Charles starts a private Instagram account to feature memes like the first--actually a racist attack on a classmate. "His model was the stuff he saw online... some of which was funny precisely because it was offensive." He fills the account with sexist and racist "jokes" that use minority girls from his high school as targets. The account has only a dozen followers, but it doesn't remain private for long. The exposure of the content sets off a series of events--suspensions, protests, legal actions--that embroil parents, students, and staff in the ugliness of Charles's online activity.
While readers' instinctive response may be to say Charles deserves what he gets, Slater's meticulous research from multiple perspectives highlights the difficulties of attempting to define absolute right and absolute wrong. Slater ultimately shows readers that, while racist actions can be unconscious, they remain offensive and harmful, and the perpetrator should be held accountable. Silence, too, she communicates, is a form of condoning racism and contributes to the problem. But Slater does not solve problems or answer the questions; instead, she scrupulously illustrates the complexity of this case, and reminds the audience that there are no quick fixes. --Jen Forbus, freelancer