4.15 Stars from 305 GoodReaders
Wow. Just wow. King's REALITY BOY is a heavy roller. I loved this book but sometimes it was difficult for me to read, as I was drawn into the thoughts of a boy who grew up in such an unloving and hostile environment.
Background
Gerald is 17. Back when he was about 5 years-old his mother agreed to have his home invaded by cameras and 'reality creators'. Next thing you know, family life is worse, everyone is stressed out, and worse, Gerald is permanently labelled 'the crapper' for his use of poop as a means to communicate to adults how unhappy he was.
Forward 12 years...
Forward 12 years...
Gerald's mom and dad are still inept and as a result of the 'help' they received from the fake Nanny and the show's director the whole family is living in hell. There oldest child despises her siblings, and Lisl, Gerald's slightly older sister, has escaped to Europe.
And Gerald. Gerald is filled with almost uncontrollable rage.
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Review: INFINITE SKY
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Review: FANGIRL (light-hearted drama)
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Review: INFINITE SKY
Review: CHASING SHADOWS
Review: FANGIRL (light-hearted drama)
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REALITY BOY is an amazing book. Alternately sweet and uplifting, and then again, angering and insightful.
[I swear I will never look at Realty TV the same way again. And the irony of my observing Gerald so closely, when this was just how his life got so screwed up in the first place, isn't lost on me either.]
[I swear I will never look at Realty TV the same way again. And the irony of my observing Gerald so closely, when this was just how his life got so screwed up in the first place, isn't lost on me either.]
Gerald and Hannah are simply fantastic characters. Her oddball quirkiness is the perfectly complimented for him, and it was so enjoyable to watch them slowly forge their relationship.
If you are in the mood for a pretty intense read, READ THIS.
REALITY BOY is probably not suitable though for middle-graders. There is fierce bullying, profuse profanity, and mild sexual content. So it's probably not going to be for all adults or young adult readers either.
Pam~
REALITY BOY
by A.S. King
Reading Information:
Word Count: 75,243
Page Count: 368
Accelerated Reader: 3.8 / points: 10.0
AR quiz: 162363
Lexile: HL620L--sample pages and reviews available
2 comments :
Why would this be on the list for THIRD graders??
If you are in the mood for a pretty intense read, READ THIS.
REALITY BOY is probably not suitable though for middle-graders. There is fierce bullying, profuse profanity, and mild sexual content. So it's probably not going to be for all adults or young adult readers either.
Pam~
REALITY BOY
by A.S. King
Reading Information:
Word Count: 75,243
Page Count: 368
Accelerated Reader: 3.8 / points: 10.0
AR quiz: 162363
Lexile: HL620L--sample pages and reviews available
0 comments
Labels: AR 3X , Books at the 3rd Grade Reading level , Contemporary , Drama , YA
You are absolutely correct that this book is not for little ones... or even young ones. REALITY BOY is a young adult novel and one which I wouldn't even suggest my middle-schooler read.
What's confusing is that the book is actually written at the 3rd Grade level.
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And as an aside I want to thank you. You've brought up a problem with this website, and that is that while publishers consider YA to be part of the Kid-Lit world, teachers and moms do not.
So I took a long vacation and pondered this and decided that the YA books need to be separated off from the books for younger readers.
I haven't yet decided what to do with the middle-grade books and may actually just handle them on a case by case basis.
So MUSTREAD KidLit and YA is rolling out. It will take a while to move the reviews from here to their new homes, but hopefully it will be worth all the work because the kind of confusion we're discussing here is sort of serious. At least it is to this mom.
Thanks.
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