Reality Boy - Hardcover

King, A.S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316222704 ISBN 13: 9780316222709

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2013

Synopsis

In this fearless portrayal of a boy on the edge, highly acclaimed Printz Honor author A.S. King explores the desperate reality of a former child "star" struggling to break free of his anger.
Gerald Faust started feeling angry even before his mother invited a reality TV 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. No one cares that Gerald has tried to learn to control himself; they're all just waiting for him to snap. And he's starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that...until he chooses to create possibilities for himself that he never knew he deserved.

About this title

About the Author

A.S. King is the author of the highly acclaimed Reality Boy; Ask the Passengers, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner; Everybody Sees the Ants; and the Edgar Award nominated, Michael L. Printz Honor book Please Ignore Vera Dietz. She is also the author of The Dust of 100 Dogs, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. When asked about her writing, King says, "Some people don't know if my characters are crazy or if they are experiencing something magical. I think that's an accurate description of how I feel every day." She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and children.

Review

A New York Times Editors' ChoiceA 2013 Publishers Weekly Best YA BookA 2013 School Library Journal Best BookA 2013 Kirkus Reviews Best YA BookA 2013 VOYA Perfect Ten BookA 2013 Association of Booksellers for Children Best Book for ChildrenA 2014 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults BookA 2014 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers BookAn Amazon Best Book of the MonthA Publishers Weekly Book of the WeekA Winter 2013-2014 Top Ten Kids' Indie Next List PickA 2014 Texas Tayshas Reading List Top Ten BookA 2014 Carolyn W. Field Award NomineeA 2014-15 Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award WinnerA 2015-16 Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award Master List BookA 2015 Arkansas Teen Book Award, Level 2 Nominee

"A.S. King is one of the best YA authors working today. She captures the disorientation of adolescence brilliantly.... Reality Boy is finally a novel about whether you are fated to the life the world expects you to have."―John Green, The New York Times Book Review

* "Heart-pounding and heartbreaking.... a compulsively readable portrait of two imperfect teens learning to trust each other and themselves."―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "A nuanced portrayal....This is a story about healing."―Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "King's trademarks--attuned first-person narrative, convincing dialogue, realistic language, and fitting quirkiness--connect effectively in this disturbing, yet hopeful novel."―School Library Journal, starred review

* "King's writing is tighter, more focused, and better than ever....[An] intense and incredibly fresh plot."―VOYA, starred review

* "King offers a compelling look at possible long-term effects of reality shows.... thought-provoking and ultimately optimistic."―Library Media Connection, starred review

"Put down the remote and pick up Reality Boy--it's a showstopper."―The Horn Book

"The hallmarks of [King's] strong work are there: magical realism, heightened emotion, and the steady, torturous, beautiful transition into self-assured inner peace. Like Gerald, it's wonderfully broken."―Booklist

"[A] smart and sympathetic story about breaking free from the world's expectations."―The Bulletin

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0316222704
• ISBN 13: 9780316222709
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368