Jazz doesn’t like herself very much. If you saw how pretty she is, how well she does at school and the friends she has, you’d wonder why. But she did something terrible to her best friend, Annie, and thanks to social media, it’s now all over the internet. Annie can’t handle the scrutiny, the ridicule and, worst of all, the knowledge that Jazz has betrayed her. Annie attempts suicide. The police are involved and now Jazz’s life is a big mess. How can she possibly make amends? How can she bring the shreds of her life back into some semblance of order and sanity?

At first, we don’t want to like Jazz.We don’t like what she’s done. In fact, we don’t really like most of the kids in her school.Their lifestyle is dangerous and, frankly, stupid.The mantra ‘everyone’s doing it’ doesn’t cut it as an excuse. But as the story unfolds we also see Jazz’s remorse and her attempts to make things right. Eventually we begin to admire her courage and tenacity.

This is a very timely warning to young people about the dangers of underestimating the power of social media and the tremendous damage it can wreak on people’s lives. Saving Jazz is a confronting, uncomfortable and yet important story.

Age Guide 14+
Reviewed by Wendy Noble

Teachers’ Resource – Saving Jazz