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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 26, 2006
This review is from: The Actual Real Reality of Jennifer James: A Reality TV Novel (Hardcover)
What do you get when you take the idea for an in-school reality TV show and cross it with a character reminiscent of Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicolson? One of the freshest and cutest novels around, THE ACTUAL REAL REALITY OF JENNIFER JAMES.
Jennifer James is not the most popular girl in her not-so-posh school, London Road Comprehensive. Boys may not necessarily notice her and her family may not come from money. But the one thing that may be working for Jennifer is when the newest reality TV show, Down the Bog, comes to her school and offers one lucky student a scholarship to St. Willibald's College. This could be the chance for Jennifer to finally go to a good school, and all she needs is to be entered into the competition--but it may not be that easy.
How the show works is that they choose two kids per grade and have a group of celebrities act as teachers at the school. The entire time, cameras will be showing all the action that is happening inside the school, and each week there will be a certain competition that the contestants and celebrities will have to compete in. And each week, viewers will call in and the one student and the one celebrity with the lowest number of votes will have to leave.
Fortunately, Jennifer is oddly enough chosen to be a contestant. But that may be the only good news. There seems to be many struggles that Jennifer is going to have to face, like the very popular and very rude Tallulah, bullying her way through the competition and practically causing Jennifer's life to be miserable. Then there's Marcus, the guy who Jennifer has a crush on but who also seems to be on Tallulah's radar. And then there is Jennifer's feminist mother Jocasta, who hates the idea of Jennifer being on a reality show. For now, trying to win the competition could be the hardest obstacle that Jennifer has ever faced.
THE ACTUAL REAL REALITY OF JENNIFER JAMES is witty, fun, and very compelling. Readers will get so attached to Jennifer that they will desperately root for her all the way, whether she wins or not. Gillian Shields captures the true essence of how it feels to want something very badly and to do the greatest thing to get it. The one thing that was on my mind during the reading was hoping for there to be a sequel to this fantastic book.
Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Real Reality is Really Funny, October 29, 2006
This review is from: The Actual Real Reality of Jennifer James: A Reality TV Novel (Hardcover)
When a new British reality TV series begins filming at London Road Comprehensive, Jennifer unwillingly becomes a contestant alongside her peers, her teachers, and eccentric celebrities. Two kids per grade (except for the highest year) are selected to participate, with the student prize being a scholarship to an elite school. Jennifer doesn't want to be on the show, but she has been selected to represent her grade. So has Tallulah, who is as cruel as she is pretty - and she knows it.
This book is written in diary format. Nearly four hundred pages in length, it is unlike many other stories about reality TV shows because Jennifer doesn't watch herself on TV. She can't. Her mother doesn't permit televisions in the house. This allows the book to be more about Jennifer and less about television. She is a reluctant participant in this crazy game, and readers will root for her.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Hilariously Realistic Look At Reality Television, February 15, 2007
This review is from: The Actual Real Reality of Jennifer James: A Reality TV Novel (Hardcover)
THE ACTUAL REALITY OF JENNIFER JAMES is a hilarious novel reminiscent of the popular Georgia Nicholson series, only even better. It has more of a plot, and Jennifer is a lot smarter than Georgia. Both, however, are hilarious and very British!
Jennifer's school, London Road Comprehensive, despite being described as "bog-standard," has one exceptional thing going for it: It's about to be featured on a reality television show in which celebrities, teachers, and students will compete for top prizes in front of the entire country. Which would be exciting enough even if Jennifer wasn't a huge part of it, but she's one of the dozen student contestants competing for a scholarship to the prestigious St. Willibald's College, a boarding school with much higher academic standards than London Road Comprehensive--making it the perfect place for overachiever Jennifer James.
Of course, being on constantly camera is not as great as it sounds. Cameras are more than a little invasion of privacy. They make Jennifer's life--particularly her rather nonexistent love life--more difficult than it used to be. Is it really worth it, putting up with it all to go to St. Willibald's?
THE ACTUAL REALITY OF JENNIFER JAMES is laugh-out-loud hilarious, but at the same time a very intelligent and interesting novel. It's certainly an original story and very well-written. Add to this wonderfully funny novel a cast of fantastic characters, and you've got a brilliant book. I can't wait to read more by Gillian Shields!
Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce
02/15/2007
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