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A review by saidtheraina
The Real Real by Emma McLaughlin
4.0
I can't quite decide if this is guilty pleasure material or just a really good read. Maybe it's both. It's the story of a working class girl growing up in Hampton Beach who gets picked to star in a reality tv show a la "The Hills." Jesse figures the crew will just follow her around in her normal life. Little does she know the extent that being on the show will get in the way of her having a life.
Jesse is supposedly a somewhat nerdy outsider in school and she spouts a line or two about hating corporations. Which of course doesn't get followed up on at all, since if she was balking at every namebrand placement in the show, that would be what the novel would be about. The character doesn't ring completely authentic, but that's kinda ok.
The authors do a nice job of showing (completely hilariously) how truly inauthentic shows like this can be. The producers mess with relationships, clothing, homes, behavior choices, everything in the chase for higher ratings. The behavior is truly horrific. And, like I said, the depiction is totally hilarious too, with a lightness that relieves the horror of the real content of the book. Friendships and relationships are lost and gained and it's all very dramatic in typical YA fashion. Wish the family relationships had been a touch more real, but again, not the focus of the novel. Great read, good booktalk, just wish I could take it to the middle schools.
Jesse is supposedly a somewhat nerdy outsider in school and she spouts a line or two about hating corporations. Which of course doesn't get followed up on at all, since if she was balking at every namebrand placement in the show, that would be what the novel would be about. The character doesn't ring completely authentic, but that's kinda ok.
The authors do a nice job of showing (completely hilariously) how truly inauthentic shows like this can be. The producers mess with relationships, clothing, homes, behavior choices, everything in the chase for higher ratings. The behavior is truly horrific. And, like I said, the depiction is totally hilarious too, with a lightness that relieves the horror of the real content of the book. Friendships and relationships are lost and gained and it's all very dramatic in typical YA fashion. Wish the family relationships had been a touch more real, but again, not the focus of the novel. Great read, good booktalk, just wish I could take it to the middle schools.