Reality Chick

VOYA

This reviewer freely admits it: She watched part of the first season of Survivor and one episode of Real World. That is her history with reality TV. But students who gather regularly for Laguna Beach might find this behind-the-scenes volume to be an enticing light escape. Meet Ally, a freshman at Syracuse University, who is cast to spend her first semester "having personal problems . . . broadcast to millions of strangers" with cameras 24/7, "pimping [her] out to the world" on a show called In the House. With housemates, classmates, assignments, and her long-distance boyfriend in Miami, average Ally journeys through four crucial months of her life, deciding on a major, navigating relationships, and learning the importance of moving on in life. The narrative alternates between chapters titled "Then" and "Now," setting up expectations for reflection. Although glib and imaginative, self-centered and self-referential, Ally is not particularly insightful or mature-perhaps the ideal persona for a reality series. Other characters begin as stereotypes, and some evolve. Readers are treated to many pop culture references, breezy dialogue, fashion commentary, and Ally's conversational voice, replete with frequent use of the "F" word and rife with references to "hooking up." While not "hilarious" as the book cover claims, Ally's creativity takes several genuinely delightful turns with imagined encounters/consequences, inviting readers to play along. First-time novelist and active blogger, twenty-six-year-old Barnholdt capitalizes on current preoccupation with reality programming. Joining the A-List and Gossip Girl genre of titillating pleasure versus substantive prose, this novel slides easily intothe beach tote. VOYA CODES: 2Q 4P S (Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2006, Simon Pulse/S & S, 288p., Trade pb. Ages 15 to 18.
—Patti Sylvester Spencer

Children's Literature - Cindy L. Carolan

Ally can't believe that she is one of five Syracuse College freshman selected to star in a reality show called "In the House." She muses about how she was "set-up," as she is of average attractiveness and does not readily fit any other stereotype. Or does she? Readers are to glean from this statement that it is because she has a cute boyfriend who is a star basketball player at a different college and that the show's producers expect the couple to fizzle as a result of the separation. While one's interest may wane at the beginning of the book, readers will be hoping the best for Ally at the end. Friends abound: Grant, Ally's best friend who is gay, is woven in and out, and she forges new friendship with the other girls of her house, but where is Ally's family? They make a few cameo appearances but are noticeably absent throughout the majority of the book. One would imagine a fair amount of parental intrusion (good, bad, or otherwise) during this pivotal period in a young adult's life. The book includes the seemingly requisite but completely unnecessary nods to sex and inebriation. Redeeming qualities of the book include: a) portrayal of decisions to pursue a college major that hold a true interest, not one that is simply expected, b) mature handling by both interested parties of a long term relationship break-up, and c) chapter headings in a "Now" versus "Then" manner, adding a some interest to the fairly predictable writing. Not a necessary acquisition.