The chaos of now by Erin Lange

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Faber and Faber Limited, 2018. ISBN 9780571317479
(Age: Teens+) Recommended. Themes: Cyberbullying. Suicide. Computer hacking. A group of hackers emerge with a new website that can avoid the cyber snoop's radar, a place for people to voice their own opinions for once without getting punished for it. The hackers claim they want nothing but justice and payback. Payback for the bullies who drove a student to take their own life. Eli, a hacker himself, is not sure if he wants to get involved. But knowing he can turn the cybershop's own system against them is more than tempting enough. But soon enough justice turns into vengeance and Eli is not sure if he will be able to keep things under control. This follows Eli, a smart hacker who isn't too sure of his plans for the future after high school, and some friends he makes during this story. With secrets of his own, he gets caught up with a group of hackers who want to seek 'justice' for their friend whom earlier that year committed suicide as a result of online bullying. Thinking he is smart enough to handle this situation on his own he agrees, but things slowly spiral into a mess he just cannot face alone. Secrets pile up and friendships and relationships suffer because of them.
The chaos of now mainly follows the topics of cyberbullying and the aftermath of suicide, while also touching on teenage love and high school dramas, as well as family issues relating to single fatherhood and new partners. This is a very well written and emotional story that teenagers can relate to, and I would recommend it to teenage readers and above.
Kayla Raphael

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