The Real Real - Hardcover

Grade 9 Up–Teens will revel in the juiciness of this fictional exposé. In The Nanny Diaries (St. Martin's, 2002), McLaughlin and Kraus took on the world of the rich and neurotic. In their first novel for teens, they expose the malicious underbelly of the reality-TV industry. When Jesse O'Rourke gets chosen to be part of the cast of a new documentary series, The Real Hampton Beach, about seniors dealing with the real world and real issues, she has considerable reservations, but the offer of $40,000 in college tuition is too good to turn down. It sounds easy enough–pretend to be best friends with people you despise, wear designer clothes you cannot afford, and give up any semblance of privacy–right? If only it were that simple. Between the phony friendships, the staged fights, and the product placements, Jesse can no longer differentiate between what's real and what looks good on television. She and the other players are just pawns in the network's moneymaking game. However, that changes when Jesse gets dirt on the network's president of programming. Now they have the upper hand and can finally regain control over their lives. This book is far more entertaining than most of the so-called reality programs on television. The authors have a natural ability for digging up the dirt and bringing it to the surface.–Robyn Zaneski, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.