Backlash by Sara Darer Littman

He says: You're an awful person.
He says: What makes you think I would ever ask you out?
He says: The world would be a better place without you in it.

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. They've been talking online for weeks, so what's with the sudden change? And where does he get off saying horrible things on her wall? Even worse - are they true?

It's been a long time since Lara's felt this bad, this depressed, this ugly. She's worked really hard to become pretty and happy - and make new friends after what happened in middle school.

Bree used to be best friends with overweight, depressed Lara, but constantly listening to Lara's issues got to be too much. Secretly, Bree's glad Christian called Lara out. Lara's not nearly as amazing as people think. But no one realized just how far Christian's harsh comments would push Lara. Not even Bree.

As online life collides with real life, things spiral out of control, and not just for Lara. Because when the truth starts to come together, the backlash is even more devastating than anyone could have ever imagined  

I thought the premise for this book was fantastic. A 15-year-old girl named Lara is friended by a senior boy named Christian. They begin corresponding back and forth on IM. While Lara has never met Christian in person, she is immediately drawn to his good looks and caring personality. When Christian suddenly turns on Lara it shocks. He writes on her wall that the world would be a better place if she were not in it. This devastates her and she tries to to commit suicide by overdosing on pills. Th I thought the premise for this book was fantastic. A 15-year-old girl named Lara is friended by a senior boy named Christian. They begin corresponding back and forth on IM. While Lara has never met Christian in person, she is immediately drawn to his good looks and caring personality. When Christian suddenly turns on Lara it shocks. He writes on her wall that the world would be a better place if she were not in it. This devastates her and she tries to to commit suicide by overdosing on pills. The ramifications of Lara's suicide attempt affects many people around her including; her sister, Sydney, parents, her former best friend, Bree, Bree's parents, and Bree's brother, Liam. While, I think the message about cyber bullying is important, I thought the book was slow moving, dull, and predictable. Nothing new is ever revealed from the middle of the book on. Ultimately, it is a big whine fest by all the different characters about how everything got so out of control. There is nothing inappropriate in the book, so it is fine to recommend to female adolescents.