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A review by erinlibrarian
The Real Real by Emma McLaughlin
3.0
So, taking a break the bleak visions of the future that I've reading lately, I decided to to read something "fun". On the surface, The Real Real is a fun, guilty pleasure book that is very similar to watching a reality tv show. Jesse and her fellow cast members get to wear designer clothes, spend the weekends shopping, take glamorous trips, and become instant celebrities. However, once you can get past the ridiculous amount of product name dropping and overblown, evil adults in this story, there's an interesting little undercurrent about how little "reality" is actually present in reality tv. What starts out as a show about the real lives of ordinary high schoolers soon becomes a soap opera as the show's producers begin manufacturing drama and turn the lives of the cast into nightmares for the sake of ratings. It (almost) makes you feel sorry for the real life stars of such shows.
I really wish that the characters were better developed. Jesse, who is supposedly the "smart and responsible" one (she gets into Georgetown University) makes several bad decisions during the story, which doesn't really make sense in the context she's presented in. Several of the minor characters (the fancy, professional cinematographer, Zachariah, brings a lot of comedy to the otherwise tedious shooting scenes) really shine while those in the core group don't come off as very interesting. And, the romance between Jesse and Drew feels a little shallow- their only similarity is that they've both been cast on the show. Pretty much all of the relationships in this story seem like plot conveniences rather than believable pairings. This really is a plot driven story, which I was okay with, but a little more characterization would have made this a much stronger book.
On the bright side, I found this to be a light, breezy read that kept me entertained from beginning to end. I would recommend it for readers looking for a sneak peek behind the scenes of reality tv. There's actually the potential for some pretty great discussion about this book in regards to entertainment, reality tv, and corporate marketing directed at teens. I could envision this being a fun, summer reading book group selection.
I really wish that the characters were better developed. Jesse, who is supposedly the "smart and responsible" one (she gets into Georgetown University) makes several bad decisions during the story, which doesn't really make sense in the context she's presented in. Several of the minor characters (the fancy, professional cinematographer, Zachariah, brings a lot of comedy to the otherwise tedious shooting scenes) really shine while those in the core group don't come off as very interesting. And, the romance between Jesse and Drew feels a little shallow- their only similarity is that they've both been cast on the show. Pretty much all of the relationships in this story seem like plot conveniences rather than believable pairings. This really is a plot driven story, which I was okay with, but a little more characterization would have made this a much stronger book.
On the bright side, I found this to be a light, breezy read that kept me entertained from beginning to end. I would recommend it for readers looking for a sneak peek behind the scenes of reality tv. There's actually the potential for some pretty great discussion about this book in regards to entertainment, reality tv, and corporate marketing directed at teens. I could envision this being a fun, summer reading book group selection.