[Audio Review] Reality Boy by A.S. King

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Title: Reality Boy

Author: A.S. King [Twitter | Facebook | Website] 

Audiobook Performer: Michael Stellman

Publisher: Hachette Audio, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult- Contemporary Fiction

Release Date: October 22, 2013

Source: audiobook via public library/OverDrive – review policy here.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Gerald Faust knows exactly when he started feeling angry: the day his mother invited a reality television crew into his five-year-old life. Twelve years later, he’s still haunted by his rage-filled youth—which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle—and his anger issues have resulted in violent outbursts, zero friends, and clueless adults dumping him in the special education room at school.

Nothing is ever going to change. No one cares that he’s tried to learn to control himself, and the girl he likes has no idea who he really is. Everyone’s just waiting for him to snap…and he’s starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that.

Gerald's day goes something like this... Wake up,  avoid all family, school, work at a performance arena in concessions, and return home for a drink with dad. There's no denying that Gerald was a difficult child and has been destroyed by reality TV which has landed him the nickname "crapper" and an anger management coach. The world began to revolve around Gerald at age five when he became a reality TV centerpiece for "Network Nanny" in which a fake nanny was coached off-screen by a real nanny to help tame him and his two sisters. We find out really quickly that reality TV is not what it seems but that the perception of its realism has the power to live on over a decade later. This provides a unique storyline and provides insight into what happens when the cameras stop rolling.

“Because it's true.
Isn't that the only reason to ever say anything?” 

Ahh, characters. Everyone in this book is truly a character. Gerald begins the story as an individual who cannot see a way out of his current situation which includes living at home with his parents and older sister Tasha, constantly bullied and reminded of his childhood antics, and daydreaming as a coping mechanism. Luckily, there is SO much growth from Gerald as he meets Hannah, and attempts to visualize and actualize the next phases of his life. Hannah and Gerald's relationship is natural and clean, filled with all the doubts and question found in teenage love. Their inability to fit in serves as the glue for their being. 

Creating a list of demands, Gerald looks for family stability and support has he moves on from being the "crapper." Gerald's family is a piece of work, where both parents have virtually given up and take zero responsibility for their decisions and how these have impacted all three of their children. Mom is a stay-at-home where magazines are a priority in addition to covering up the noises from the basement. In the basement Tasha has moved back home after dropping out of college and maintains a generously loud sex life. Unfortunately neither of these characters do not develop much over the story but that's to be expected. Dad is a busy realtor with, what seems, a passive attitude towards home life. Dad also grows a lot and by a lot I mean he grows a pair. 

The one downfall for this story at times was the pacing and transitions between reality and Gerald's day dreaming landscapes. The transition piece maybe from listening to it versus reading the text. There were definitely some areas where I feel like it dragged. I would have liked to "see where this is going" a little bit sooner. However, I did feel the need for the flash back scenes. It really tied together all of the emotional and psychological damage Gerald and his family faced. Not to mention how its not Gerald who's messed up but that someone else is a true psychopath. 

Gerald's voice is genuine and painful. His journey is one of doubt that led to healing, moving on and making plans. At times I was worried but his growth is not only awesome but believable. A.S. King gives us the raw voice of an American teenager who just wants to grow up. This is a great coming-of-age tale as youth's entire childhoods from conception to graduation are documented online via photo and videos, reality TV not needed. 

4-Stars: Read it. This is mood heavy so be prepared. Definitely a post-read thinker.