EST: Psühholoogiliselt tihe noorteromaan „Thousand Words“ jutustab loo sellest, millise sündmusteahela ja kannatusteraja võib kaasa tuua üks pealtnäha tühine eksimus – peol joogise peaga „sõbrannade“ mahitusel klõpsitud alastifoto iseendast ja selle saatmine telefonitsi oma palavalt armastatud poiss-sõbrale.
Pärast seda, kui peategelane Ashleigh on oma poiss-sõbrast Kalebist lahku läinud, saadab too tüdruku alastifoto edasi oma pesapallivõistkonnale. Nii jõuab see erinevatesse kanalitesse – lausa massidesse. Sellest tuleb skandaal. Fotost teavad ja räägivad kõik – loomulikult halvasti. Koolis kogeb peategelane pidevat mõnitamist ja kiusamist. Asja hakkab uurima politsei. Ashleighst saab halva eeskuju võrdkuju, tema endisel poiss-sõbral Kalebil lasub lapsporno levitamise kahtlustus ning Ashleigh’ isa ähvardab töökoha kaotus.
See on ühe koolitüdruku eksimise, kriisi sattumise ja sellest ülesaamise lugu. See on õppetund kogu eluks. On pisaraid ja pettumusi, ebakindlust ja ebaõiglust, enesesüüdistust, häbi, viha, üksijäetust ja jõetust. Aga on ka lootusekiir – uus isevärki sõber Mack, keda elu pole hellitanud. Ta on üks vähestest, kes pole Ashleigh’ fotot vaadanud. Ta kuulab Ashleigh’ ära ega mõnita. Lõpuks aitab ta olukorda lahendada – läbi huumoriprisma.
Haaravalt kirjapandud „Thousand Words“ võiks olla kohustuslik lugemine eelkõige nutiajastu noortele, laiemalt on see aga sobilik lektüür kõigile küberhügieeni huvilistele.
ENG: This is a psychologically dense novel for young people. „Thousand Words“ tells a story about the types of huge problems that may arise, when someone, while being drunk at a party, makes a silly mistake by sending her nude photo to his beloved boyfriend.
That’s exactly what the main character of this novel – a schoolgirl called Ashleigh – did. After a bad breakup with her ex-boyfriend Kaleb, the latter forwards her nude photo to his entire baseball team. Soon, the photo has gone viral and everybody has seen it. It becomes the talkof the town – and not in a good way. The whole situation turns into a big scandal. Ashleigh is being mocked at school every single day and even the local police starts to investigate the case. Ashleigh is considered to be the epitome of a bad example, her ex-boyfriend is being accused of spreading child pornography and Ashleigh’s father is about to lose his job because of the scandal.
This is a story of a schoolgirl, who has made a mistake, has fallen into a deep crisis and, in the end, manages to overcome it. This book is a lesson for life. There are a lot of tears, disappointments, hesitation and injustice, self-incrimination, embarrassment, anger, loneliness and despair. But there is also a glimmer of hope – a new, quite taciturn friend called Mack, who has suffered a lot in his own life. He’s one of the few who hasn’t looked at Ashleigh’s nude photo. He listens to what Ashleigh has to say and doesn’t mock her. Finally, he helps her solve the situation – with his good sense of humour.
„Thousand Words“ could be a piece of obligatory literature for young peole who are using smartphones and internet every day. It could also be suitable reading for anyone who’s interested in cyber hygiene.