These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.
Laura Steven - Author
This is a sharply voiced YA novel about a teenager navigating the fallout of intimate images being shared, with humour used alongside serious attention to shame, harassment and unequal sexual expectations.
Izzy’s sexual choices become the basis for public judgement, while the novel contrasts her treatment with male entitlement and expectations.CriticalCritical: the book challenges or disapproves of this theme.Critical: the book challenges or disapproves of this theme.
How the book presents it: The extracts present the shaming and double standards as unjust, while supporting Izzy’s right not to feel ashamed of consensual choices.
Talk about: How does the novel distinguish personal choice from other people’s judgement and entitlement?
Privacy and online harm
Private sexual material is stolen or shared, producing a website, widespread attention and serious social consequences for Izzy.CriticalCritical: the book challenges or disapproves of this theme.Critical: the book challenges or disapproves of this theme.
How the book presents it: The treatment is presented as harassment and public shaming rather than as justified punishment for private behaviour.
Talk about: If private material is redistributed, what responsibilities should friends, schools and platforms recognise?
Humour and coping
Izzy narrates events with snark, jokes, parenthetical asides and an irreverent voice while harassment wears down her confidence.MixedMixed: the book presents both supportive and critical signals.Mixed: the book presents both supportive and critical signals.
How the book presents it: The book presents competing or mixed signals about this.
Talk about: When might joking offer control, and when might it make distress harder to recognise?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
It may prompt thoughtful discussion about bodily autonomy, consent, online privacy, double standards and the difference between choosing intimacy and choosing to have private material redistributed.
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What Deserves Attention
Expect explicit sexual content, strong language, public humiliation, online harassment and discussion of death. Alcohol may also be mentioned. Humour sometimes becomes deliberately provocative, so reactions may depend on comfort with irreverent jokes.
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A Conversation Worth Having
How does Izzy’s humour help her cope, and where might it obscure what she needs from trusted adults? What responsibilities do friends, schools and bystanders have when private material spreads?
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Reading Approach
Read alongside an unhurried conversation about consent and digital privacy. Pause if the public scrutiny feels intense, and invite discussion of when seeking adult help could matter.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Sexual autonomy and double standards: The ending and the full consequences for those involved are unclear.
Privacy and online harm: The extracts do not establish the complete resolution or legal outcome.
Humour and coping: The extracts cannot show how consistently this balance works across the whole novel.
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