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Dewey Decimal Number: 362.764 EAN: 9780452282537 ISBN: 0452282535 Label: Plume Manufacturer: Plume Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 208 Publication Date: June 01, 2001 Publisher: Plume Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: June 05, 2001 Studio: Plume Accessories: Editorial Review: Amazon.com: "Our lips met... I felt a few stray whiskers... and suddenly I realized that this was a grown man who was giving me my first real kiss... Something inside me snapped. Now I didn't want this at all. But I couldn't speak." Fourteen-year-old Katherine Tarbox wasn't sure how things had gone so wrong. She had planned to slip away during a school trip to meet 27-year-old Mark, whom she had corresponded with on the Internet for the last six months. Instead, she discovered that "Mark" was actually Frank Kufrovich, a man in his forties with a history of pedophilia. Katie.com is Katherine Tarbox's true story of how Kufrovich used the Internet to manipulate and molest her, and how she fought back by prosecuting him under the Communications Decency Act of 1996 and sharing her experiences so that other teens might avoid a similar situation. The saddest thing about Katie's memoir are the reasons she sought company on the Internet in the first place. Over and over she states that her mother was a workaholic who had little time for her. She was growing apart from her childhood friends and her oldest sister and confidante was always away at school. Like most teens, Katie was searching for someone or something to connect with--a search her own parents tragically didn't seem to recognize. Articulate, strong and brutally honest, Katie.com should be shared between adults and teens alike, not only as a warning against Internet dangers, but also as a reminder that a computer can never be a replacement for a caring, listening parent. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert Book Description: Katherine Tarbox was thirteen when she met twenty-three-year-old "Mark" in an online chat room. A top student and nationally ranked swimmer attending an elite school in an affluent Connecticut town, Katie was also a lonely and self-conscious eighth-grader who craved the attention her workaholic parents couldn't give her. "Mark" seemed to understand her; he told her she was smart and wonderful. When they set a date to finally meet while Katie was in Texas for a swim competition, she walked into a hotel room and discovered who-and what-her cyber soul mate really was. In Katie.com, Tarbox, now eighteen, tells her story-an eye-opening tale of one teenager's descent into the seductive world of the Internet. Tarbox's harrowing experience with her online boyfriend would affect her life for years to come and result in her becoming the first "unnamed minor" to test a federal law enacted to protect kids from online sexual predators. In an age when a new generation is growing up online, Tarbox's memoir is a cautionary tale for the Internet Age. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Most of the story is about HER, and not her experience...I think that this book could have been a great cautionary tale for teenagers that are too into chat rooms, and meeting people online. Even though it's more accepted now, people still need to take precautions (watch: To Catch A Predator) Back in 1995, when chat rooms were first introduced, even I used to stay on for hours, "chatting" with whomever came across my path. The unfortunate part is the fact that this book is not written well. It took a couple of chapters to get to the part ... Read More Rating:  - Interesting BookSome have been critical of the author, but keep in mind, she was only a teenager, and it is told from her perspective. I enjoyed the story, and it is a quick read. Rating: - FairPlot: 14 year old chats with older guy on AOL...they meet in person. Pros: Engaging, quick read, no big words, appeals to teens, adults, parents. The mother and stepfather come off as jerks, and I love reading about messed up folks Cons: Ending wasn't enough of a "conclusion" for me, I would've liked to know more and was kind of let down. Other Thoughts: Although the title did catch my eye, it is essentially a lie as no .com figures into the story and the book ... Read More Rating: - NahThis book was poorly written and plain old boring. It's like just sitting there going through a teen girls email inbox. I could do that for free. None of the characters are likeable and you really can't feel sorry for the protagonist. Rating:  - Don't support this greedy publisher's tricksRegardless of the content of this book, the publisher Penguin has deliberately 'hijacked' the katie.com domain from its legitimate UK owner - Mrs Katie Jones. They have ruined her small online business by deliberately naming the book and an ensuing TV program "Katie.com" even though they knew the domain belonged to someone else. So a hard-pressed mother gets thousands of often unpleasant emails, while the 'heroine' of the book enjoys TV celebrity. Please don't support this ... Read More |
