#Scandal By Sarah Ockler

     A Facebook scandal goes viral after prom in this comedic, edgy novel from the author of Bittersweet and Twenty Boy Summer.
     Lucy’s learned some important lessons from tabloid darling Jayla Heart’s all-too-public blunders: avoid the spotlight, don’t feed the Internet trolls, and keep your secrets secret. The policy has served Lucy well all through high school, so when her best friend, Ellie, gets sick before prom and begs her to step in as Cole’s date, she accepts with a smile, silencing about ten different reservations. Like the one where she’d rather stay home shredding online zombies. And especially the one where she’s been secretly in love with Cole since the dawn of time.
     When Cole surprises her at the after-party with a kiss under the stars, it’s everything Lucy has ever dreamed of…and the biggest BFF deal breaker ever. But before they get the chance to ’fess up to Ellie, Lucy’s own Facebook profile mysteriously explodes with compromising photos of her and Cole, along with tons of other students’ party indiscretions. Tagged. Liked. And furiously viral.
     By Monday morning, Lucy’s been branded a slut, a backstabber, and a narc mired in a tabloid-worthy scandal.
     Lucy’s been battling undead masses online long enough to know that there’s only one way to survive a disaster of this magnitude: Stand up and fight. There’s just one snag—Cole. Turns out Lucy’s not the only one who’s been harboring unrequited love… (Summary from Google ebooks)

Title: #Scandal
Author: Sarah Ockler
Publisher: 
Genre: Realistic Fiction/ Romance

     I know, the title HASHTAG scandal sounds so corny. As if our generation isn’t filled with enough trending tags and social media. Me, being me, however, gave into the prospect of a high school romance and quirky teenage drama. Welcome to my life, everyone. The place where I deal with my own teenage pettiness, only to read about other teenage pettiness in cliché YA. Go me!!!

     This book honestly may be one of my favorite Ockler stories yet. I mean, most of her stories are centered around a girl and a guy who end up getting together after going through the trials of some sort of issue, whether it be internal, external, mental, or physical. I think that’s one of the beautiful things about her stories! (Like The Summer of Chasing Mermaids, which I am reading at the moment.) This story isn’t simply some struggle that the romancing couples have to face, however. I mean the issue really puts a damper on their relationship but, in my opinion, the entire theme of this book has to do with being aware of cyberbullying. 
     
      Maybe, the author was trying to be heroic by attempting to raise awareness for such an awful thing. Or maybe it simply made for a good story. Either way, it ended up doing the thing anyway! (Notice my very proper/professional use of the word ‘thing’ above ) I mean, this girl’s final days in high school are plagued with insults and rude Facebook posts.

      Throughout it all, she actually grows as a character. By the end of the story, Lucy has grown closer to her sister, made new friends that she would have never had before, and now she has the guy of her dreams. :SPOILER: (but not a huge one.) They catch the perp, and the slut shaming stops. 

      
      Overall a fun read with a bit of mystery and romance, just the way I like em!