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Tamara Miller Davis is a married mother of two, dance enthusiast, and U.S. Coast Guard veteran from Michigan. She has worked as a substitute teacher, taught English as a Second Language (ESL), and tutored students in California. Tamara loved school as a student in Michigan, and she enjoys it as an educator in California, hence the setting of this novel.
Reviewed by Susan van der Walt for Readers' Favorite
Despite the Buzz by Tamara Miller Davis is a book dealing with the social issues related to technology and the use of social media. It takes place over six weeks and tells the story of Gabby Oliver as the new Creative Writing teacher for Heart High School. She grew up before cellphones and taught teenagers who know nothing else. She wants her pupils to experience writing by hand through journaling, one section private as a conversation with themselves, and the other for the teacher to read. In this way, they learn the difference between personal communication and writing for an audience. A private photo of a pupil shared online leads to an incident in her class, forcing Gabby to rethink her stance regarding tech.
Tamara Miller Davis uses the story to highlight the many dangers of cellphone and social media use. Put yourself in Gabby's shoes - a newbie starting her teaching career. Not allowing her students to use cellphones in her class takes guts. And when she begins to find her feet, a young man walks into her classroom, and suddenly her life is never the same. Davis makes you feel the tightening in Gabby's stomach, and then afterward you feel Gaby's anguish as she wonders, "Could I have prevented this? Could I have handled things differently?" As a result, a young man is branded a criminal, but she questions that label. Despite the Buzz is an intriguing story that shows there are consequences to all our actions, not only on social media.
