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Reality Boy AS King Books

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Reality Boy AS King Books

Reality Boy is a hard book to rate and review. I hated every single character and it made me so angry and frustrated. But I didn't hate the book at all. I was more angry for Gerald than anything, because seriously, everybody sucks! I even didn't like him at times! He's just so negative all the dang time, but it's not all his fault. His childhood was horrible. He was on one of those reality shows where they call in a nanny to straighten out problem children. Gerald was that problem child. At least according to his mother. Now at seventeen, he's still known as Crapper, since he pooped on everything on the show. And that makes Gerald angry. Everything makes Gerald angry, but I can't really blame him, since everything in this book made me angry, too.

I wasn't quite sure about Reality Boy in the beginning since there's a lot of talk about poop. But I suppose that's the life Gerald is living, since nobody who knows him can seem to let go of the little boy who pooped on the dining room table, in a fitting room, and in his mother's shoes over ten years ago. This had become what has defined him. But really it was sooo much poop! Like, we get it! He's the Crapper! Can we get to the root of the issue now?! I also got quickly annoyed with how the "nanny"'s accent was written. She's British, but she didn't read as British. I don't even know what kind of accent I was reading her as, but it definitely wasn't British. Random words are exaggerated to show off her Britishness but it didn't work. Maybe that's how she sounded to five year old Gerald, but five year old Gerald is not telling this story! Stating she was British would have been plenty.

Anyway, onto the core of Reality Boy. I hate Gerald's entire family. His mother is the one who wrote to the show for help, since she had an angry little boy on her hands and didn't know what to do. Or really, she didn't want to do anything. She wanted to pass her problem on to someone else. Well, that obviously didn't work, since no one tried to fix the source of Gerald's misbehavior. His oldest sister tried to kill him! Several times! She terrorizes him! Whenever he tells on her, she lies and their mother believes her, and just assumes he's retarded (no I am not joking) even though she slaps her mom around, too! WTF! So, you can see why I was so frustrated reading this story. His mother is a horrid person! I'm sure stuff like this happens in real life, but holy crap, was it hard to read about! Gerald is suffering at the hands of his own sibling, and his mother just doesn't care. And his father isn't totally oblivious, but stays away from it. At least Gerald's other sister managed to escape.

There is a romance in Reality Boy, and yes, I hated her too. Well, hate is probably too strong of a word to describe my feelings toward Hannah. I just really didn't like her, and found her extremely annoying, especially when she starts professing her love for Gerald after like a day. But he's been in love with her from afar too, so I don't know. But she always moping around about how her father works at a junkyard, finding parts for people. Like that's such a huge problem. I know suffering isn't a competition, and your problems are your own, and there was more going on with her. But she really did bring up the "junkman's daughter" thing ALL THE TIME. It was like with the poop. Just shut up already! Gosh!

Reality Boy clearly left an impression on me. I can't say that I liked it, because it's just so infuriating, but I guess it's good that the author managed to get me so involved in Gerald's life. Since like I said earlier, I was more mad for him, rather than mad at the book for being bad or anything, despite my complaints. I'm glad that I read it. I don't know that I could recommend it. It's definitely something different and gets you thinking and maybe super emotionally involved like me. I really don't know. It's just one of those books that's hard to explain.


Tags : Amazon.com: Reality Boy (9780316222709): A.S. King: Books,A.S. King,Reality Boy,Little, Brown Books for Young Readers,0316222704,Boys & Men,Family - Siblings,Social Issues - Violence,Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Fiction Boys & Men,Juvenile Fiction Family Siblings,Juvenile Fiction Love & Romance,Juvenile Fiction Social Issues Bullying,Juvenile Fiction Social Issues Violence,Love & Romance

Reality Boy AS King Books Reviews

Reality Boy was so much more than I was expecting. I don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. Delving into Gerald's life, present and past, was fascinating and horrifying at the same time. Like the concept of Reality TV, watching Gerald's life is like watching a car accident unfold before your eyes. You can't stop looking, even when the carnage is revealed. It's terrible and tragic and you are just hoping everyone will survive the fallout.

A.S. King does a tremendous job looking beyond the surface and the camera editing and sees into the heart and soul of Gerald, and Hannah, and anyone else's life behind closed doors. Ignoring things does not make them go away, and frequently it just makes things worse. And amidst the evil, for lack of a better word, there is also hope. With every terrible character, there is a person with a flicker of hope, wanting something better and wishing that for another. And I love that Gerald gives me hope, beyond him just trying to stay out of jail. There is hope in this story, but there is a tough fight to get there, and I loved the journey. (Also, the world can always use more Hockey ladies.)

And what a cast of characters we have. We are primarily looking at Gerald. And I loved Gerald. I wanted to hug him and steal him away and raise him with my three sons. Watching him go through his revelations was heart-breaking, yet he was so strong in character and I admired him for it. Gerald's messed up family plays a key role in his life and we get plenty of insight into how screwed up they are and why they do, and have done, the things they do. And while this is a work of fiction, there is truth in the inter-weavings of the story. There is truth that not only is there is so much behind the scenes of Reality TV, but there is so much beyond the "reality" of what people show in their daily lives.

This is not only a reflection on childhood, but also on parenthood. On doing the right thing. On choosing something uncomfortable because it is the right thing to do. On protecting the little guy. On not being blind to the truth and seeing what's really there and not just what you want. On taking responsibility and not just waiting around. There is truth that the way we parent, or don't parent, affects our children negatively or positively. I've witnessed these things, as I'm sure we all have. And I liked how the author addressed this.

This is my first A.S. King novel, but it certainly won't be my last.
Reality Boy is a hard book to rate and review. I hated every single character and it made me so angry and frustrated. But I didn't hate the book at all. I was more angry for Gerald than anything, because seriously, everybody sucks! I even didn't like him at times! He's just so negative all the dang time, but it's not all his fault. His childhood was horrible. He was on one of those reality shows where they call in a nanny to straighten out problem children. Gerald was that problem child. At least according to his mother. Now at seventeen, he's still known as Crapper, since he pooped on everything on the show. And that makes Gerald angry. Everything makes Gerald angry, but I can't really blame him, since everything in this book made me angry, too.

I wasn't quite sure about Reality Boy in the beginning since there's a lot of talk about poop. But I suppose that's the life Gerald is living, since nobody who knows him can seem to let go of the little boy who pooped on the dining room table, in a fitting room, and in his mother's shoes over ten years ago. This had become what has defined him. But really it was sooo much poop! Like, we get it! He's the Crapper! Can we get to the root of the issue now?! I also got quickly annoyed with how the "nanny"'s accent was written. She's British, but she didn't read as British. I don't even know what kind of accent I was reading her as, but it definitely wasn't British. Random words are exaggerated to show off her Britishness but it didn't work. Maybe that's how she sounded to five year old Gerald, but five year old Gerald is not telling this story! Stating she was British would have been plenty.

Anyway, onto the core of Reality Boy. I hate Gerald's entire family. His mother is the one who wrote to the show for help, since she had an angry little boy on her hands and didn't know what to do. Or really, she didn't want to do anything. She wanted to pass her problem on to someone else. Well, that obviously didn't work, since no one tried to fix the source of Gerald's misbehavior. His oldest sister tried to kill him! Several times! She terrorizes him! Whenever he tells on her, she lies and their mother believes her, and just assumes he's retarded (no I am not joking) even though she slaps her mom around, too! WTF! So, you can see why I was so frustrated reading this story. His mother is a horrid person! I'm sure stuff like this happens in real life, but holy crap, was it hard to read about! Gerald is suffering at the hands of his own sibling, and his mother just doesn't care. And his father isn't totally oblivious, but stays away from it. At least Gerald's other sister managed to escape.

There is a romance in Reality Boy, and yes, I hated her too. Well, hate is probably too strong of a word to describe my feelings toward Hannah. I just really didn't like her, and found her extremely annoying, especially when she starts professing her love for Gerald after like a day. But he's been in love with her from afar too, so I don't know. But she always moping around about how her father works at a junkyard, finding parts for people. Like that's such a huge problem. I know suffering isn't a competition, and your problems are your own, and there was more going on with her. But she really did bring up the "junkman's daughter" thing ALL THE TIME. It was like with the poop. Just shut up already! Gosh!

Reality Boy clearly left an impression on me. I can't say that I liked it, because it's just so infuriating, but I guess it's good that the author managed to get me so involved in Gerald's life. Since like I said earlier, I was more mad for him, rather than mad at the book for being bad or anything, despite my complaints. I'm glad that I read it. I don't know that I could recommend it. It's definitely something different and gets you thinking and maybe super emotionally involved like me. I really don't know. It's just one of those books that's hard to explain.