| Katie.com: My Story | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 111 reviews)
Sales Rank: 498131
Category: Book
Author: Katherine Tarbox
Publisher: Plume
Studio: Plume
Manufacturer: Plume
Label: Plume
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 0.5
ISBN: 0452282535
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.764
EAN: 9780452282537
ASIN: 0452282535
Publication Date: June 1, 2001
Release Date: June 5, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product 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.
Amazon.com Review
"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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 106 more reviews...
 Most of the story is about HER, and not her experience... August 25, 2008
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 where she first met "Mark." Even though she seemed very grown up for 13, I think that a lot of the details could be tied into one chapter. She went on and on about how the area in which she lived is very into appearances, and everyone had a lot of money. Okay, we get it. I think if you are going to write something in a memoir, it should have some connection to the story. I didn't really care that she was trying to figure out what her Christmas presents were or the very detailed information about her swimming on the team. I just didn't think that she was a very good writer.
Even still, this is a very important book to be out there. Some reviewers have said that if she just didn't go to meet him, she would be fine, and someone else said, "She wasn't even raped." I think that people need to be educated on that topic and what it is. She was touched where she didn't want to be, she was manipulated by a man more than three times her senior, and I do feel sorry for her, and everyone else that this has happened to.
 Interesting Book October 21, 2007
Some 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.
Fair August 6, 2007
Plot: 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 isn't about a specific web site. The book reads like it was written by a teenager. Granted it was written by a teenager but the writing made me very aware of this fact. While not badly written, the prose is unimpressive
Nah January 28, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This 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.
 Don't support this greedy publisher's tricks August 25, 2006
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
Regardless 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 type of greedy commercial behaviour. Buy another book.
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