Gerald has grown up in the public eye. One might even say he's the boy from TV...except he's not. "Reality" TV is anything but. As a small child, his mother wrote in to one of those nanny shows. You know the ones, where some lady comes in and acts like she can fix all the problems in your family within a year or less. What they never showed on Network Nanny, and what Gerald's mom never wanted to admit, was that his older sister Tasha was the real problem.
Tasha was abusing Gerald, his older sister Lisi, and his mom. Hitting them, yelling, manipulating to get her way. She probably could have used some help from Nanny, but instead, it was all about Gerald, the Crapper. To try and draw attention to his sister's behavior, to try and draw any attention from his mother and father, he did what any 5 year-old would do: he acted out. Maybe he shouldn't have started pooping on things (ok, he definitely shouldn't have started doing that...), but it got results.
The backlash of course was that he was known as The Crapper for the rest of his childhood into adolescence. His anger management problems followed as well, until he snapped and took things too far. Since then, he has tried to keep to himself, retreating to Gersday (his perfect daydream) whenever he can. Living in a house with Tasha is intolerable. His mother continues to ignore her behavior, making excuses for everything. His dad had retreated into himself, and his sister Lisi - his one source of comfort - has abandoned him for college in Scotland. He doesn't really blame her, he can't wait to get as far away from here as he can, but she could at least call.
Then he meets Register Girl #1. He works at Register #7, always, no exceptions. He's in SPED classes, even if he doesn't really need to be, his anger management coach always told him to stay away from girls because they are more trouble than they're worth..but she might be worth it. They start to get to know each other, they set some ground rules. (No saying retarded, no talking about reality TV, no touching for two months) Turns out she's in therapy too. Slowly they begin to build a friendship, and more, that allows them to challenge their abusers, and ask for more.
This is an interesting commentary on reality TV and what we as a society are doing to our perceptions, as well as to the participants. We are being fed an ideal that a few days can rectify a lifetime of mistakes, and that behaviors can be modified quickly. Reality is very different, and as shown in the book, the scars inflicted by his sister and mother -compounded by the television show- will probably follow him into adulthood. What is the price of entertainment? How far are we willing to go? King is one of my favorite authors writing today. She seamlessly blends magical realism into her novels without making it too fantastical. Highly recommended.
This is an interesting commentary on reality TV and what we as a society are doing to our perceptions, as well as to the participants. We are being fed an ideal that a few days can rectify a lifetime of mistakes, and that behaviors can be modified quickly. Reality is very different, and as shown in the book, the scars inflicted by his sister and mother -compounded by the television show- will probably follow him into adulthood. What is the price of entertainment? How far are we willing to go? King is one of my favorite authors writing today. She seamlessly blends magical realism into her novels without making it too fantastical. Highly recommended.
"'What are your demands, Reality Boy?'*Library Link*
My reflection doesn't have any demands.
All demands have been removed from my refelction. Roger, my professional demand-remover, has done a spotless job.
Should is a dirty word. No one should do anything for you. You deserve nothing more than what you earn. Reality boy is still angry, though. Because Reality Boy knows he deserves all kinds of shit he never got.
The longer I stare at myself in the mirror, the more I want to punch myself. Right in the face. I want to break my nose. Split my lip. Bite a hole in my cheek. I want to beat some sense into me. Instead, I punch the toilet stall door. It swings in and slams into the toilet-paper holder. My hand is numb. But not as numb as the rest of me," (King pg. 152, 2013).
If you liked this, check out:
Everyone Sees the Ants by A.S. King
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
More Than This by Patrick Ness
King, A.S. (2013). Reality Boy: A Novel. New York : Little, Brown and Company.
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