Reality Boy in Mock Printz 2026

Jul 02, 2013 edh rated it it was amazing

Shelves: teen

This was hands down the most compelling galley I brought home with me from ALA – the story of a kid who is dogged through adolescence by his childhood “participation” in a (fake) reality TV show not unlike Supernanny. Gerald is the “Crapper,” who defecated on tables, in handbags, and various Barbie accessories when he was a preschooler/elementary schooler. The British nanny (who isn’t who she seems) is brought to help Gerald & his two sisters when his mother writes a desperate letter to the show This was hands down the most compelling galley I brought home with me from ALA – the story of a kid who is dogged through adolescence by his childhood “participation” in a (fake) reality TV show not unlike Supernanny. Gerald is the “Crapper,” who defecated on tables, in handbags, and various Barbie accessories when he was a preschooler/elementary schooler. The British nanny (who isn’t who she seems) is brought to help Gerald & his two sisters when his mother writes a desperate letter to the show. Gerald’s dad is just as unhappy as the rest of them, and the whole family is miserable. We see Gerald’s mother struggle with a son she considers “retarded,” a younger sister who feels completely out of place, and an older sister whose behavior grows more and more erratic and disturbing with time.

We join Gerald long after the cameras were packed away and the lighting dismantled, but the show haunts him at every turn. His therapist has recommended boxing, but this is only encouraging Gerald’s violent tendencies. He’s invented a fantasy world called Gersday, where he can spend time doing only the nicest things with characters who are kind and sweet to him, but escaping to Gersday is getting harder and harder. As if that wasn’t enough, Gerald has met a compelling young lady at his afterschool job slinging hot dogs at the local coliseum. He figures that nobody’s going to want to date The Crapper – who’d want to be associated with that?

Through flashbacks mixed with present-day scenes, Gerald invites us into his world and shows us what it’s like to drown in the misconceptions of others. And honestly, that’s really what this book is about – the hidden stories behind carefully crafted narratives, public personas vs. private ones, and what happens when your expectations are shattered by a reality you didn’t want and didn’t ask for. Like Gerald’s therapist reminds him, we all project our own experiences and expectations on other people to a certain extent – whether it’s making assumptions about a reality TV show family or the new coworker in the next cube. As Gerald peels back the curtain on his experience, the reader starts discovering more and more of the truth behind the screen – and it’s both more and less shocking than you may expect. This is a a book right in step with our times, perfect for an age in which we grow closer and simultaneously further apart using screens and social media with the ability to edit our stories down to a version of the truth that skims the surface of our lives like a fancy veneer atop particle board furniture.

I anticipate many reality TV memoirs in the next ten years, as kids like the Duggars, Gosselins, SuperNanny families, and others age up to the point where they feel compelled to share their stories in another medium. Some will do it for money, sure, but others will do it so that people can hear more about what their shows didn’t show. I won’t be surprised if their stories are as compelling as Gerald’s. ...more

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Jul 23, 2013 Christina Getrost rated it really liked it

Shelves: realisticfiction

A mildly upsetting but ultimately rewarding look at one young man's rough path to self-improvement. About to turn 17, Gerald has grown up with no friends and a lot of anger, having become nationally famous (and gained a nasty nickname, The Crapper) from his atrocious behavior while aged 5, 6 and 7 on a reality tv show, Network Nanny. His family was disfunctional ten years ago, and unfortunately the methods used by the British nanny (played by an actress who took cues from an offcamera nanny!), a A mildly upsetting but ultimately rewarding look at one young man's rough path to self-improvement. About to turn 17, Gerald has grown up with no friends and a lot of anger, having become nationally famous (and gained a nasty nickname, The Crapper) from his atrocious behavior while aged 5, 6 and 7 on a reality tv show, Network Nanny. His family was disfunctional ten years ago, and unfortunately the methods used by the British nanny (played by an actress who took cues from an offcamera nanny!), and the stress of repeated "takes" for the camera were no help in resolving their deep issues, which have only gotten worse. Now the oldest sister is even more hurtful towards Gerald; the middle sister--the only one whom Gerald was close to--has moved out to go to college and avoids the family entirely, and Gerald's parents are spineless/clueless/apathetic bordering on neglectful. He sees an anger management coach and boxes punching bags at the gym to try to contain and channel his anger (for he has hit people before and knows he could snap again), but he is still raging at the world and at his sister. He also frequently mentally escapes into a Disneyesque childhood fantasy world where he spaces out for many minutes at a time to pretend he is happy and has a happy life. As he gets to know Hannah, a girl he works with at his afterschool concession stand job, he struggles with trying to make his first true friend, and perhaps girlfriend, and what that means if he truly opens up to someone. She too is dealing with family issues that have turned her into a bitter, punk-rocking, journaling-obsessed loner, and seeing the way these two gradually melt each other's barriers and grow close is really touching. I found this a fascinating look at a turbulent family, with fully realized characters (you will be rooting for Gerald to find a way through), and also a sad commentary on what "reality tv" can do to some people; it seemed entirely realistic. Definitely for high school readers and up, for language (frequent F bombs) and some mature content. ...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Donalyn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013-nerdy-shortlist, ya-realistic-fiction

A.S. King writes another uncomfortable, but all too real story about a teen in crisis. Gerald and his family were the stars of reality nanny TV show when he was seven. Acting out against his cruel, neglectful family situation, Gerald is famous for his bad behavior on live television ten years ago.

Gerald wants more for himself, but he has been taught not to make demands. A beautiful, quiet girl with secrets of her own gives Gerald hope for more from his life.

Difficult to read, but impossible to ...more

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Sep 26, 2013 Ricki rated it it was amazing

Gerald’s incredibly dysfunctional family allows us to truly appreciate our own families. His mother wants him to be “retarded” so she doesn’t have to recognize the errors she committed while raising him, his oldest sister is allowed to both harm him and have loud sexual intercourse in the basement (while the whole family listens), his dad ignores the issues Gerald is facing, and his one good sister moved away and doesn’t call.

Rightfully, Gerald has a lot of anger, and he has great difficulty con ...more

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Oct 05, 2013 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult-teen

Another rockstar read from King. Even if I'm not sure I like it as much as Everybody Sees the Ants, I still really appreciate her writing craft. At Reading Rants: http://www.readingrants.org/2013/10/1... ...more

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Jan 02, 2014 Mary rated it really liked it

King writes so well about dark dysfunctional families but always ends her novels with a sense of hope.Her characterization is so skillfully constructed that the reader becomes involved and connected.

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Jul 06, 2013 Danielle rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, arc, printz-2014-contender

3.5, rounded up because A.S. King is an amazing writer. But man, this was a little too depressing for me.

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Jun 19, 2013 Crowinator rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-contemporary, arc-print, ya, other-monsters, 2014-reads

This is my least favorite of all of AS King's books that I've read (Everybody Sees the Ants and Ask the Passengers), but ya know, it's still AS King. I started reading this evening and couldn't stop until I was done and now I just need a chance to reflect. ...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Tiff rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, tiffs-favorites, advance-copy, met-this-author, cover-love, read-in-2013, favorite-authors

This is my new favorite A.S. King book. And that says a lot, since King is already one of my favorite authors. Tweeted while reading: "I'm reading this and feeling hopeful & scared & my heart is racing & it's slightly broken, too." That about sums it up. ...more

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