Thousand Words

Now in paperback, a compelling drama about a girl seems to have it all - strong grades, good friends, and the perfect boyfriend - until she finds herself at the center of a sexting scandal, from an author praised for tackling tough issues, Jennifer Brown.

I bit my lip as I typed in the words 'sexting and teens' and hit 'search'. Articles popped up, one after another, and I groaned inwardly. Most of them were about me.

Ashleigh's boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he'll forget about her while he's away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh's friends suggest she text him a picture of herself - sans swimsuit - to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits 'send.'

But when Kaleb and Ashleigh go through a bad breakup, Kaleb takes revenge by forwarding the text to his baseball team. Soon the photo has gone viral, attracting the attention of the school board, the local police, and the media. As her friends and family try to distance themselves from the scandal, Ashleigh feels completely alone - until she meets Mack while serving her court-ordered community service. Not only does Mack offer a fresh chance at friendship, but he's the one person in town who received the text of Ashleigh's photo - and didn't look.

Acclaimed author Jennifer Brown brings readers a gripping novel about honesty and betrayal, redemption and friendship, attraction and integrity, as Ashleigh finds that while a picture may be worth a thousand words, it doesn't always tell the whole story.