Review & Giveaway: Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown

Thousand Words

By: Jennifer Brown

Pub. Date: May 21, 2013

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 288

Source: TLA 2013

Ashleigh's boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he'll forget about her while he's away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh's friends suggest she text him a picture of herself -- sans swimsuit -- to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits "send."

But when Kaleb and Ashleigh go through a bad breakup, Kaleb takes revenge by forwarding the text to his baseball team. Soon the photo has gone viral, attracting the attention of the school board, the local police, and the media. As her friends and family try to distance themselves from the scandal, Ashleigh feels completely alone -- until she meets Mack while serving her court-ordered community service. Not only does Mack offer a fresh chance at friendship, but he's the one person in town who received the text of Ashleigh's photo -- and didn't look.

Acclaimed author Jennifer Brown brings readers a gripping novel about honesty and betrayal, redemption and friendship, attraction and integrity, as Ashleigh finds that while a picture may be worth a thousand words . . . it doesn't always tell the whole story.

Thousand Words was the first book I have read from Jennifer Brown and I loved every minute of it! The subject matter is so important for teenagers. Books like this will help them to understand the consequences of taking and sending naked pictures. They might think it is harmless to send a naked photo of themselves to their girlfriend or boyfriend, but this is a serious thing that can ruin many people's lives.

One night while drunk at a party, Ashleigh thinks it will be a good idea to send a full frontal photo of herself to her boyfriend Kaleb. Things are fine and the photo ends up being forgotten. That is until the two of them break up and to get revenge Kaleb sends the photo to every person on his contact list. Not only is Ashleigh completely embarrassed, but she ends up getting suspended from school, she loses her friends, gets threatening messages and has to complete 60 hours of community service. To top that off, her father might lose his job as superintendent of the school district because of his daughter's behavior.

The book goes back and fourth between the events during and after the photo was taken and her time in community service. I loved the chapters when Ashleigh was completing her community service hours. Mainly because I was so intrigued by Mack. Another boy in community service who hardy ever speaks. I just wanted to know more about him, and so did Ashleigh. I loved the friendship that ended up blossoming between the two. They both clearly had issues, but they found a mutual trust and respect in each other.

I was a little disappointed at the end. Most of my questions were answered but I would have liked to know exactly what happened to Kaleb. We learn what could happen, but not what actually happened to him. He was 18 when he sent the picture of Ashleigh around, making him an adult who distributed child pornography. He could go to prison and might have to register as a sex offender.

Thousand Words is a very realistic portrayal of what could happen if you involve yourself in sexting. Teenagers don't realize the consequences of participating in something like this. They don't understand that it can and will ruin their lives. Thousand Words should definitely be in every English classroom and library across the United States.

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