#Scandal

by Sarah Ockler

[bookishzelda]

The main focus of #scandal at first kind of seems like it’s about the romance between Lucy and her best friends boyfriend, Cole. After the initial “betrayal” it becomes primarily about the use of social media to cyber bully. Combined with regular bullying. It’s actually really scary to think about. As someone who was bullied as a kid without the wonderful world of the internet. I can’t even imagine what it’s like in today's world. The idea that someone can create a fan page dedicated to their dislike of you and have other people comment on it is crazy. It was also interesting to take a step back and see how the principal, the parents and other fellow students deal with the going ons.

Even though it becomes more of a background issue I really liked the situation that Lucy, Cole and Ellie have to deal with it. I mean this is something that not only teenagers deal with but also adults. What do you do when you think the person you belong with his with your best friend. I think it’s something that test your faith in love/destiny/fate and also friendship. I did wish there could have been a little more of the romance mixed in.

As Lucy begins to investigate who the really perp is in order to clear her name. She finds more than what she is looking for and by the end she realizes that it’s not really important how people see you in high school. It’s more about how you see yourself. Lucy goes from blaming everyone for what she considers a life ending scandal to realizing that she let facts she should be sharing and standing up for herself slip away.

I really like the dialogue in #Scandal because it often times made me laugh out loud. It’s just funny and witty. It really sets the scene for the high school vibe.

There are many characters that float through #Scandal, some we get to know better than others. Rather than Lucy and Cole being the leads, I felt like it was more of Lucy and her sister Jayla. They are really the two we get to know the most intimately. Ellie and Cole while there and we interact with them, I felt like we get to know them more through Lucy’s memories that involve them. Franklin and Griffin also play carry a little larger roles. I like that some of the side characters have their own issues that they need to deal with as well.

The pacing of the book is good. I never felt like things were moving too slowly or bored. I thought the different developments were interesting. Even though finding out who really uploaded the pictures was a big part of the intrigue I liked the other things going on as well.

I want to say #scandal is a fun read but the topic that it deals with really is not. With the funny dialogue it helps to lighten the mood and I liked how there were different underlying themes that Lucy deals with. I enjoyed it and it’s a good book for a summer reading list.