Book #1 A. S. King’s Reality Boy

Reality Boy by A. S. King (2013) 

I’ve read one other book by A. S. King and I loved it. Everybody Sees the Ants memorized me with its complex characters (and also features a male protagonist with family issues). Reality Boy is even better.

Here’s a quick summary.

Almost 17-year-old Gerald Faust, former star of the reality television show, Network Nanny is angry. Although the episodes, which captured his “crapping” on tables and in shoes, are 12 years old, his classmates still torment him with nicknames like “the Crapper” and his family is still dysfunctional—extremely dysfunctional. When a former viewer expresses sympathy for Gerald, he begins to open up to a girl and a boy who travels with a circus. 

One of my favorite parts of Reality Boy is the way King structures the novel. The chapters that are set in present day are interspersed with chapters set during the filming of Network Nanny. In fact, I found those chapters even more compelling than the present day chapters as they exposed the “behind the scenes” antics of Gerald’s psychopath sister and the inner workings of a “reality show.” Gerald’s relationship with his father is also a wonderful part to this book and King gives readers the hopeful (note, not happy ending) that makes a high-quality contribution to young adult literature.

Both books are perfect for a late high school/ early college crowd, and King’s style and content remind me a little of M. E. Kerr’s work, which was a hit with my tenth graders once upon a time.

Next up is a book about a boy who’s on a chess team who also has an interesting relationship with his father.