Author: Therese Fowler
Publication: May 3, 2011 (Read Jan 12, 2012)
By: Ballantine Books
4 Stars!
This was like a modern day Romeo and Juliet tale with the topic of sexting at it's core. (A surprisingly relevant subject for both teens and parents.)
Amelia and Anthony are young, in love and have big plans for their future but her father's need to control every aspect of her life forces them to keep secrets. They do plan on telling her parents about their relationship but think it's best to wait until after graduation, after she turns eighteen and will legally have the freedom to make her own decisions. But everything they've worked hard to protect shatters in an instant when Amelia leaves her laptop sitting on the kitchen counter one morning.
When her father, Harlan decides to test his computer hacking skills out "just for fun", he gets more than he bargains for. He expects to find Amelia's school projects but instead, he stumbles upon pictures of a naked guy. Refusing to believe Amelia played any part in what he views as a crime against his family, he decides to call the police. In doing so, he sets in motion a chain of events forever changing not only Amelia and Anthony's lives, but everyone their story touches.
What makes this story even more weighty is that Author Therese Fowler's own experience on this topic with her eldest son is what inspired "Exposure". She weaves fact and fiction together so beautifully all the while addressing tough questions about today's teen culture, sex, internet responsibility versus the legal system and the thin line separating art and pornography.
"Sexting" has become a serious legal issue in the past few years among teens and the rise of Hollywood stars and starlets making sex tapes or getting caught with their clothes off on each others cell phones certainly doesn't help matters. What teens need to understand is this...
1) Taking naked pictures of yourself or anyone is not a good idea. Why? Chances are, it's illegal, especially if you or the other person is 18. (Think jail. Prison. Nobody looks good in orange, do they?)
2) Those naked pictures of you WILL get out and be seen by someone other than the person you originally intended. It will happen. It always does. (Whose the family member that makes you cringe? Yeah, THAT person will see those pictures.)
3) EVERYTHING you put on the internet is there FOREVER. It NEVER. EVER. goes away. EVER. (Imagine your kids Googling you one day & BAM! there you are...in all your nekid glory. Awkward much? Yeah, I thought so.)
4) If you're looking for your "15 minutes of fame" by taking your clothes off, you'll get it but it will be the WRONG kind of fame.
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