When Ashleigh thinks about her boyfriend Kaleb going off to college, she's filled with anxiety. What if he forgets all about her? So one drunken night she decides to send him a picture that's sure to keep her in his mind... a picture of herself: naked.

But Kaleb has always been a little inattentive and distracted and when he goes to college it only gets worse, leading to a bad breakup. When Kaleb forwards the text to some friends as a way of revenge, it completely spirals out of control. Soon everyone has seen the picture, even Ashleigh's dad, the superintendent of her school.

The photo becomes a huge scandal in Ashleigh's town and everyone is trying to distance themselves from it, and from her. Ashleigh feels completely humiliated and alone and now has to attend court-ordered community service. She doesn't know what to think about being betrayed so badly and doesn't know why everyone is blaming her. It's not like she wanted the whole world to see her naked. She's so busy apologizing and hiding from the nasty comments that she loses sight of who she even really is.


I am a big Jennifer Brown fan... so this book was on my radar from day one. Now that I've read the book, I'm happy to say it lived up to my Jennifer Brown expectations!! It's definitely an "issues book" but it's not one that's been done to death. Sexting is a really big issue that some people don't realize the full consequences of. Once something is digital it can live forever. Things you post or videos/pictures you've taken can go viral or surface years later and cause humiliation, hurt feelings, and even lost jobs.

This book dives right into the issue of the unintended consequences that sexting can have. I kept thinking that the consequences for Ashleigh seemed a little too severe, but then I remember that it has happened. I've heard numerous cases of girls who have made national news for their pics getting out.

The best part of this book was when Ashleigh was going through the fallout and realized that she was all alone. The feeling that was in this part of the book hurt my heart. Like her parents really weren't being supportive, her friends dropped her, and the guy she trusted for the last year had ruined her life. Everyone was just coming down on her so hard and they wouldn't let up. The school, her coach, her peers, their parents, her parents: everyone was out to blame her for something she never wanted to happen. Yes she took the picture, but it was for her boyfriend! He's the douche here... not her. And yes he had consequences too, but at least he deserved them. I just felt and felt and felt for this girl.

One thing that bugged me was the maturity level. The conversations between Kaleb and Ashleigh were kind of hard to read at times because they were so immature. Having said that though, I sort of loved that it was like that because it made it feel real. At that age I totally had fights with my boyfriend that made me look dumb. I can remember fighting with an ex-boyfriend and bringing up old fights in the middle of new fights all the time. It's like the #1 immature thing that you can do in a relationship. But it is the reality of teen relationships. And I love that Jennifer Brown captures the teen voice so authentically.

I really enjoyed reading about this topic because it reminds me how much easier I had it growing up in the 90's. We had to call someones landline and actually ask their parents if they were home and could talk. It made it a lot more difficult to communicate with boys. But I think it was a good thing. Texting and Facebooking makes it so easy to have the balls to put yourself out there. Without those things we really got to know people before communicating with them. I think that is a lot safer... and better on your heart. So yeah, i found it super interesting to see this girl get bullied via text and Internet knowing that half of those people wouldn't be saying anything if they had to do it face to face.

The only thing I really wanted was more! It definitely could've been 50 pages longer.

Overall: I LOVE Jennifer Brown! You should definitely pick up this issues book about a really relevant topic. It's a book about friendship and finding yourself through really hard times. It's deep, but it's kind of fun at the same time.

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A very poignant story about sexting and current issues teens face today as well as a revealing personal journey for the narrator. Consequences, impulsivity, and texting are all examined in depth, making it a very relevant read.

This was a pretty quick read but I just felt something was missing. I never felt like I really connected with any of the characters and I would have liked to see more focus on the aftermath rather than just jumping ahead.

The friendship with Mack lack spark and didn't feel real.

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I did not want to read this book. It made me uncomfortable, and I'm pretty sure I put it down at least half a dozen times just to walk around the room from nerves. Finally, I just pushed through and read it in one day. I feel like it is a believable portrait of sexting and the issues surrounding it. Mistakes are made by both teens and adults on both sides of this issue, and unfortunately in this digital age, some things never go away. ( )

"Thousand Words" is a timely story about how one thoughtless/bad devision can have devastating consequences. I wanted to shake Ashleigh for her naivety when she took a nude photo of herself and sent it to her boyfriend, but I felt really sorry for her when the photo went viral and she had to suffer more than just humiliation because of the choice she made. Suddenly, the image she thought would only be seen by the boy she 'loved' was going around the school and wider community, and she had no way of stopping it. This novel clearly reinforces the 'think before you send' campaign. ( )