King, A. (2013). Reality boy. NY: Little, Brown and Company.
Appropriate age: 9th grade +
Summary: Gerald Faust spent several years with a reality t.v. crew in his home. The show was about a nanny trying to fix his family's behavior. However, it only made things worse. Gerald's oldest sister was psychotic and often physically harmed him and his middle sister to the point where they feared for their lives. His mother felt she could only love one child; Tasha (the oldest). She made sure the children were fed, but always favored Tasha. Gerald acted out and was put into special ed classes. Now at seventeen, Gerald is doing everything in his power to keep the rage in and to find himself. He meets Hannah and slowly begins to realize that he is not messed up. He sees the reality of his life and situation. In the end Hannah and Gerald briefly run away together. When they return, Gerald is able to finally get through to his dad. Together, they leave Tasha and his mother to move on with a more normal and healthy life.
This books is listed on the American Library Association's Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. There is profanity throughout the book and the author alludes to sexual situations.
This book's strong points are that even with everything going wrong in his life Gerald is able to pull himself up and fight for a future. Personally, I became emotionally involved in the characters in this story. It was horrifying what he and his middle sister had to endure. This book would be great to show character development and how to draw a reader into the story. It uses flashbacks as well.
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