Title: The Real Real Author: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: December 15, 2009
Pages: 309
My Edition: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Where I got it from: Engleman & Co
Summary from Goodreads:
The bestselling authors of The Nanny Diaries introduce a new heroine to root for: Jesse O'Rourke, coffee barista, high school senior, and unwitting reality TV star.
Imagine there was never a Laguna Beach, a Newport Harbor, the shimmering Hills. Imagine that your hometown—your school—is the first place XTV descends to set up cameras. Now imagine they've trained them on you.
When Jesse O'Rourke gets picked for a "documentary" being filmed at her school in the Hamptons she's tempted to turn down the offer. But there's a tuition check attached to being on the show, and Jesse needs the cash so she can be the first in her family to attend college. All she has to do is trade her best friend for the glam clique she's studiously avoided, her privacy for a 24/7 mike, and her sense of right and wrong for "what sells on camera." . . . At least there's one bright spot in the train wreck that is her suddenly public senior year: Jesse's crush has also made the cast.
As the producers manipulate the lives of their "characters" to heighten the drama, and Us Weekly covers become a regular occurrence for Jesse, she must struggle to remember one thing: the difference between real and the real real.
When Jesse O'Rourke gets picked for a "documentary" being filmed at her school in the Hamptons she's tempted to turn down the offer. But there's a tuition check attached to being on the show, and Jesse needs the cash so she can be the first in her family to attend college. All she has to do is trade her best friend for the glam clique she's studiously avoided, her privacy for a 24/7 mike, and her sense of right and wrong for "what sells on camera." . . . At least there's one bright spot in the train wreck that is her suddenly public senior year: Jesse's crush has also made the cast.
As the producers manipulate the lives of their "characters" to heighten the drama, and Us Weekly covers become a regular occurrence for Jesse, she must struggle to remember one thing: the difference between real and the real real.
Review:
Wow the Real Real was a great, fun, entertaining, fast-paced novel. The authors have written mainly adult novels, but this YA novel was so good I think they should switch to YA : ) Once I started reading, I was instantly hooked into Jesse's story. I loved all the twists, and the ending was just perfect. It had romance, backstabbing, some teenage angst, cattiness, and of course drama.
The Real Real was a real page-turner because I couldn't put it down for two seconds. I read most of it in between classwork at school, so it was kind of hard to put it down once I had to back to my classwork. The characters were very easy to relate to, and I loved the little scandals the TV show caused. The only downside to the book was it was pretty obvious what was going to happen, but I didn't really care because I really liked reading about it anyway. Overall it was a fun book to read, and I'll be reading the authors' two Nanny Diaries books very soon.
Rating:
The Real Real was a real page-turner because I couldn't put it down for two seconds. I read most of it in between classwork at school, so it was kind of hard to put it down once I had to back to my classwork. The characters were very easy to relate to, and I loved the little scandals the TV show caused. The only downside to the book was it was pretty obvious what was going to happen, but I didn't really care because I really liked reading about it anyway. Overall it was a fun book to read, and I'll be reading the authors' two Nanny Diaries books very soon.
Rating:
