A review by jilljemmett
The Renegade Reporters by Elissa Brent Weissman

5.0

When sixth grader Ash accidentally posts an inappropriate video of a teacher, she’s removed from her school’s morning news show. Ash and her friends Brielle and Maya decide to start their own news channel online, using their school software from Van Ness Media. Soon after starting their show, they discover that Van Ness Media has been selling data from students, despite claiming that they make ad-free software. Ash and her friends didn’t expect to stumble upon such an important new story, but they have to find a way to get it out in the world.

This story had an important message about digital fingerprints. Companies are constantly collecting and sharing data that we put out on the internet. Sometimes it is helpful, such as when you get a coupon for a store you were just in. But sometimes it’s creepy, when they can track where you live and work.

There were some details of the way companies gather and track our data that I wasn’t familiar with before reading this book. This is such an important story because it teaches kids the dangerous implications of using the internet. It also shows that kids can make a difference in the world, since Ash and her friends are the ones that discovered and reported on the story.

The Renegade Reporters is a great middle grade story!

Thank you Penguin for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.