New York : Little, Brown and Co., 2014.
353 p. ; 21 cm.
I wasn't sure I'd like this book, but it is well-written, interesting and nicely plotted. The novel picks up with now 16 year old Gerald who achieved dubious fame as a 5 year old reality TV "star" - appearing in a Nanny 911 type show where he was supposedly "the troubled child" because he defecated around the house to express his anger and frustration. Due to this unpleasant behavioral trait, Gerald, got nicknamed "The Crapper" and has never lived it down.
The novel follows Gerald as he deals with his anger, powerlessness, and developing romantic relationship. We learn there were a lot of terrible truths that were papered over by the reality TV producers and that the troubled one wasn't really Gerald.
There is a lot of humor, heart, and depth to Reality Boy (it really is a fun read) and I'll recommend it to students asking about a good book to read. My main complaint with this book is that in the interest of heightening conflict - the villains of the book (you'll have to read it to find out) are stunningly villainous (downright sociopathic/psychopathic). It's not that such characters don't exist, it's just that I didn't quite believe it in this context. That said, Reality Boy is a good book that should appeal to a wide variety of readers.
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