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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The premise of Reality Boy is what initially caught my attention. Reality television has become such a big part of our culture that I thought it would be interesting to read about it from the other side. What would it be like having cameras follow you around all day?
While there were minor aspects of the flip side of reality TV mentioned (the novel definitely portrayed the dark side of it and it's impact on those participating), the majority of Reality Boy focused on Gerald, the youngest of 3 children. The novel brings up great questions about the honesty of what we view on television and almost warns not to believe everything we see.
Despite the interesting nature of the book, I was very off put by the vulgar language and unsavory situations that arose quite frequently and do not recommend this book for readers younger than upper high school. I cringed listening to some of this as an adult!
While there were minor aspects of the flip side of reality TV mentioned (the novel definitely portrayed the dark side of it and it's impact on those participating), the majority of Reality Boy focused on Gerald, the youngest of 3 children. The novel brings up great questions about the honesty of what we view on television and almost warns not to believe everything we see.
Despite the interesting nature of the book, I was very off put by the vulgar language and unsavory situations that arose quite frequently and do not recommend this book for readers younger than upper high school. I cringed listening to some of this as an adult!
This was hands down the most compelling galley I brought home with me from ALA – the story of a kid who is dogged through adolescence by his childhood “participation” in a (fake) reality TV show not unlike Supernanny. Gerald is the “Crapper,” who defecated on tables, in handbags, and various Barbie accessories when he was a preschooler/elementary schooler. The British nanny (who isn’t who she seems) is brought to help Gerald & his two sisters when his mother writes a desperate letter to the show. Gerald’s dad is just as unhappy as the rest of them, and the whole family is miserable. We see Gerald’s mother struggle with a son she considers “retarded,” a younger sister who feels completely out of place, and an older sister whose behavior grows more and more erratic and disturbing with time.
We join Gerald long after the cameras were packed away and the lighting dismantled, but the show haunts him at every turn. His therapist has recommended boxing, but this is only encouraging Gerald’s violent tendencies. He’s invented a fantasy world called Gersday, where he can spend time doing only the nicest things with characters who are kind and sweet to him, but escaping to Gersday is getting harder and harder. As if that wasn’t enough, Gerald has met a compelling young lady at his afterschool job slinging hot dogs at the local coliseum. He figures that nobody’s going to want to date The Crapper – who’d want to be associated with that?
Through flashbacks mixed with present-day scenes, Gerald invites us into his world and shows us what it’s like to drown in the misconceptions of others. And honestly, that’s really what this book is about – the hidden stories behind carefully crafted narratives, public personas vs. private ones, and what happens when your expectations are shattered by a reality you didn’t want and didn’t ask for. Like Gerald’s therapist reminds him, we all project our own experiences and expectations on other people to a certain extent – whether it’s making assumptions about a reality TV show family or the new coworker in the next cube. As Gerald peels back the curtain on his experience, the reader starts discovering more and more of the truth behind the screen – and it’s both more and less shocking than you may expect. This is a a book right in step with our times, perfect for an age in which we grow closer and simultaneously further apart using screens and social media with the ability to edit our stories down to a version of the truth that skims the surface of our lives like a fancy veneer atop particle board furniture.
I anticipate many reality TV memoirs in the next ten years, as kids like the Duggars, Gosselins, SuperNanny families, and others age up to the point where they feel compelled to share their stories in another medium. Some will do it for money, sure, but others will do it so that people can hear more about what their shows didn’t show. I won’t be surprised if their stories are as compelling as Gerald’s.
We join Gerald long after the cameras were packed away and the lighting dismantled, but the show haunts him at every turn. His therapist has recommended boxing, but this is only encouraging Gerald’s violent tendencies. He’s invented a fantasy world called Gersday, where he can spend time doing only the nicest things with characters who are kind and sweet to him, but escaping to Gersday is getting harder and harder. As if that wasn’t enough, Gerald has met a compelling young lady at his afterschool job slinging hot dogs at the local coliseum. He figures that nobody’s going to want to date The Crapper – who’d want to be associated with that?
Through flashbacks mixed with present-day scenes, Gerald invites us into his world and shows us what it’s like to drown in the misconceptions of others. And honestly, that’s really what this book is about – the hidden stories behind carefully crafted narratives, public personas vs. private ones, and what happens when your expectations are shattered by a reality you didn’t want and didn’t ask for. Like Gerald’s therapist reminds him, we all project our own experiences and expectations on other people to a certain extent – whether it’s making assumptions about a reality TV show family or the new coworker in the next cube. As Gerald peels back the curtain on his experience, the reader starts discovering more and more of the truth behind the screen – and it’s both more and less shocking than you may expect. This is a a book right in step with our times, perfect for an age in which we grow closer and simultaneously further apart using screens and social media with the ability to edit our stories down to a version of the truth that skims the surface of our lives like a fancy veneer atop particle board furniture.
I anticipate many reality TV memoirs in the next ten years, as kids like the Duggars, Gosselins, SuperNanny families, and others age up to the point where they feel compelled to share their stories in another medium. Some will do it for money, sure, but others will do it so that people can hear more about what their shows didn’t show. I won’t be surprised if their stories are as compelling as Gerald’s.
King is just so dang good. Reading Reality Boy made me feel like I was Gerald and simultaneously made me feel so lucky I was no longer a teen. It's a tough but hopeful read. I would recommend it to older teens and new adults. I really enjoyed the immediate friendship between Gerald and Joe Jr. Circus boy. King's books are original and unflinching.
I can't think of a book that's similar to this. The idea of reality TV families being even remotely real is intriguing. I think my students would enjoy this book.
Someone made a deal with the devil all right and her name is Jill Faust, mother of three extraordinarily unhappy children, one of them a certain psychopath. To remediate her poor parenting abilities, she enlists the aid of a reality TV nanny. The show makes a spectacle of the family's situation but the worst thing? It actually brings a spark of momentary hope to Gerald and his older sister Lisi that someone will really see the truth and fix things. At their young ages they're not sure just what's broken exactly but they know their family needs help. But reality television is about exploitation and ratings, not about making the world a better place. Soon 5 year old Gerald earns himself a nickname that will be a lasting legacy of shame, "The Crapper," for the intentional poops he takes in public spaces in a desperate cry for attention. But nobody saw the real Gerald then, except maybe Lisi, and no one sees him now at 17, not even Gerald himself. As the year unfolds he begins to see himself differently and begins to imagine a future and demands to be seen.
King deftly weaves the phenomena of reality television with her trademark mental anguish and angst, casting a light on mental illness and the toll it takes, the unintended casualties. Although it's sometimes wrenching to read, you work up a good amount of righteous indignation and disbelief that no one ever thought to step in and help Gerald or Lisi; their mother, pitiable then excremental, their father complacent and cowardly. Teachers, producers, counselors, nannies, no one intervenes, conveniently believing its Gerald's impulsivity and anger that are the root of his problems. Then he meets Hannah and it's open season on everything he believes about himself. No truths are sacred. He may have to venture out of the cocoon of Gersday to find his real self. For mature readers there's a lot to think about. It's an absorbing read. Though not gratuitous, there is a lot of profanity, some of which is puzzling as it is spelled with symbols in some places but not in all. Not sure if that was an editing oversight in a failed effort to soften the multitude of F bombs but I ultimately found it annoying. Use it or don't but don't go back and forth. Is there some quota on the number of times you can spell it out without losing your YA status? It just drew my scrutiny every time I saw a swear word rather than it being a natural part of the narrative.
King deftly weaves the phenomena of reality television with her trademark mental anguish and angst, casting a light on mental illness and the toll it takes, the unintended casualties. Although it's sometimes wrenching to read, you work up a good amount of righteous indignation and disbelief that no one ever thought to step in and help Gerald or Lisi; their mother, pitiable then excremental, their father complacent and cowardly. Teachers, producers, counselors, nannies, no one intervenes, conveniently believing its Gerald's impulsivity and anger that are the root of his problems. Then he meets Hannah and it's open season on everything he believes about himself. No truths are sacred. He may have to venture out of the cocoon of Gersday to find his real self. For mature readers there's a lot to think about. It's an absorbing read. Though not gratuitous, there is a lot of profanity, some of which is puzzling as it is spelled with symbols in some places but not in all. Not sure if that was an editing oversight in a failed effort to soften the multitude of F bombs but I ultimately found it annoying. Use it or don't but don't go back and forth. Is there some quota on the number of times you can spell it out without losing your YA status? It just drew my scrutiny every time I saw a swear word rather than it being a natural part of the narrative.
I cannot express how much I love A. S. King. She is my hero.
This book was hard for me to get through, but I'm glad I did.