Backlash

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

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

Publishers Weekly

01/12/2015
An online crush who isn’t what he seems pushes a fragile 15-year-old named Lara to the brink of self-destruction, and her former best friend Bree is there to document her collapse like a Facebook-posting paparazzo. But as the police investigate Lara’s suicide attempt and the town becomes embroiled in the incident, Lara’s tormentors become targets. Working in the same vein as she did in Want to Go Private?, Littman pens a raw, frighteningly realistic, and absorbing look at cyberbullying and the damaging effects of airing private trauma in a public forum. By telling the story from the shifting viewpoints of key characters, Littman honestly examines the conflicting ways people can view a single situation. In passages written in the voice of Lara’s younger sister, Sydney, readers get an unflinching, firsthand account of Sydney’s struggle to cope with feeling like her own aspirations are being ignored, while the real villain, Bree’s unscrupulous mother, emerges as much more than a self-involved woman trying to live out her high school fantasies through her daughter. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Mar.)

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

School Library Journal

12/01/2014
Gr 7 Up—For sophomore Lara Kelly, things are finally looking up—she's feeling more confident after losing weight and she made the varsity cheerleading team, which she never would have imagined two years earlier when she was overweight and severely depressed. Best of all, Lara has caught the attention of a cute guy on Facebook, and he has been hinting at asking her to the homecoming dance. But when she sees horrible comments from her crush on social media, she spirals into a dangerous mental state and suicide seems like the only escape. Bree is Lara's former best friend from middle school, but they drifted apart when Bree couldn't take Lara's depression and self-involvement. The new Lara is suddenly getting everything that Bree is supposed to have—the popularity, and even the spot on the cheer team. Sydney and Liam are the younger siblings, who are caught up in the horror of a tragic event, and trying to figure out how to cope with their siblings' issues while living their own lives. 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. The writing and pace may not be compelling enough for reluctant readers, and there are disturbing scenes portraying bullying and severe depression. However, it's an accessible complement to an anti-bullying curricula that would serve as a good starting point for discussion of ethics with teens. Share with fans of Lane Davis's I Swear (S. & S. 2012).—Tara Kron, 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:	2940170751808
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	02/19/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	936,128
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

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