Customer Reviews

Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reality TV is dominant in the world of 2083. Schooling is provided through EduTV until age 14 when institutional schooling costs $10,000 per year. This is a time of haves being havier and have-nots basically starving. For the poor a contest called "the Toss" determines which lucky person has a scholarship. Five of the main characters lose the toss.

"Anarctica Survivor" is created for five 14-year-olds to follow Robert F. Scott's exact path to the South Pole in Antarctica. Never mind that he was an adult and experienced professional. Each teenager to succeed wins the cost of one year of schooling. The Secretary of Entertainment has one goal only: to raise ratings at any cost.

Call it a suspenseful adventure, a dystopian story (society run amuck--viewership of this reality show reaches 99.6% when death is imminent) or speculative fiction or all of these--its coming-of-age of all the major characters is the thread that holds all the parts together. Not all who go on the quest survive, but those who do, come out changed for the better: stronger, wiser, and much more mature.

Another major character is Antarctica herself. A shape-shifter, this continent presents bizarre and hazardous obstacles from breaking ice floes to icy crevasses to white-out blizzards and obscenely low temperatures.

While I enjoyed this story very much, I am most annoyed at the artist who created the cover. Although it looks great to the unknowing eye, at no point in the story did the five rope together nor did they walk.

What they did re-enact was the use of ponies, dogs, and motor sleds that Scott and his men used in 1912. Excerpts from his diaries are also interspersed at appropriate points in the story for authenticity. The five ate the same provisions, used the same kind of equipment, and wore the same kind of clothes. Only the outcome differs. No one in Scott's party survived.

Surviving Antarctica was a pretty good book. The book was about five kids that sign up to be on a reality survival show. The kids must make it to the pole with no outside help. The tent and the primus stove. It's just like camping. Pearl was an example of what can happen if you try help survivors . This was a good book and I would recommend this to anybody that likes adventure.

The year is 2083, and television rules the world (even more so than in 2005). Kids don't go to school anymore; they stay home and watch EduTV for their education. At least until they are 14. Then the rich kids go on to high school and college, while the poor attempt to find a job, any job, though there isn't much available. They live in crowded shack towns and eat processed food chips with flavors like broccoli and chicken. Life is hard and bleak for these kids, with few comforts and fewer opportunities. The only possible happiness has to come from within (which everyone knows is where true happiness comes from anyway), because there's certainly not much pleasure otherwise. The poor kids do have one, very slim chance of getting to college and finding a good job, and that's through the scholarship lottery system. A very few get lucky; most don't.

So when a reality TV show offers 14-year-olds an opportunity at a big money prize, thousands jump at the chance to apply. "Historical Survivor" is a favorite program on EduTV. Contestants participate in recreated historical situations like the Civil War and The Alamo, right down to every dangerous detail, including the risk of injury and even death. This special teen edition puts five teenagers in Antarctica on a remake of Robert Scott's race to the South Pole in 1912.

Polly, Grace, Robert, Andrew and Billy all apply for different reasons, with different hopes and dreams. Each is chosen because of a specific and special talent he or she possesses. Then they ship out to the frozen and hostile world of Antarctica armed with the same supplies and equipment that Scott's expedition had back in 1912. Scott's men didn't survive. Will this group of 14-year-olds be able to?

Author Andrea White leads this page-turning adventure with creativity and excitement. She sprinkles in accurate and informative details with the story that will have readers learning a bit of history while having an awesome journey through their imagination.

   --- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author

I thought this (new genre to me) Hi Sci adventure would be perfect for my nephews (9, 10 & 15). Then, I read it and was surprised to find myself: a) so won over to a genre I'd had no interest in (shamefully, I admit I read no history nor science outside of my field of child psychiatry); b) caring tenderly about fictitious characters in a made-up future, with whom I had little in common (but I did! I welled up with their need for each other, their compassionate, reaching-across-chasm-like sacrifices and their flow of spontaneous gratitude in the end); and c)laughing out loud (like at Hot Sauce's promised congressional interrogation-ad-infinitum or that black market t-shirt!).

Because of the superb pacing of the second half of the book, and that great, swooping (I should have expected that sudden appearance at page 292, but I didn't) accelerated climax, I submit that Ms. White has pioneered her own genre "My Sci Fi." It reads like a Mystery; only with the murder not at the beginning, but looming. Or is it a "cautionary tale" with a warming balm of hope? Can hot-headed indignation plus goodness plus empathy plus The People really be the formula to save us from The System?

How ironic that Ms. White skewers EduEntertainment while producing a paragon of that hybrid! She insinuates such a (modern) virtuous lesson without a whiff of sanctimony or naivete. Reminding us of the essentials of hope and interdependence and the (undeniably, ultimately Real) yearning to bridge out of our existential aloneness. Ms. White, (like her Steve),makes a difference. I think she's given kids such a palatable tonic they'll gobble it up like Chocobombs.
Mark Leifeste,MD Boulder, CO

Moderately entertaining teen fiction set in a future when reality TV is more dangerous than it is today. Sound familiar? A similar premise to Hunger Games, but these children might survive if they use their wits. Although some "future" events are impossible to believe, the story of the teens is entertaining and inventive. Not as well written as Hunger Games, but still enjoyable.

The year is 2083, and American civilization as we know it no longer exists. Years back, the government went bankrupt, crime rates soared, riots and urban trash wars broke out. With the idea that better television programming would keep people in front of their TV's, thus reducing crime and keeping people happy, a new branch of government was formed... the Department of Entertainment.

Public schools are no more, all schooling is now done through TV, up until high school. (If you aren't rich, then your odds of getting education beyond the 8th grade are slim at best.) History is taught with reality shows, designed to simulate historic events such as the Civil War, the Alamo, Egyptian Pyramid Building, etc. These "educational" reality shows are done with real people, who are in real danger and often die during filming.

With tv ratings falling, the Department of Entertainment comes up with a new gimmick to pull in higher ratings: a new historical reality show, this time featuring 14 year old kids. They will be simulating Robert Scott's trek to the south pole in Antarctica, and the prize money offered is enough for a high school and college education. Even though it's risky and incredibly dangerous, many kids apply, as they don't have much of a future without an education, and the prize money would give them that. Robert, Billy, Andrew, Polly and Grace are chosen for the show, and the adventure begins....will they get to the pole alive, or will disaster strike? I'm not going to say anymore, so you'll have to read the book to find out! :)

This was a really interesting read, it definitely kept my attention all the way through. The kids really grow and mature from the experiences they go through... I'd have never guessed that by the time I got to the end my favorite characters would be the ones that I didn't care for in the beginning. The way the book presents the state of society in 2083 is definitely a warped, sad and sobering thing. Life is treated as a game, in fact the government widely broadcasts this message. In 8th grade those who don't have the money for further schooling participate in "The Toss"... throw a pair of dice, and if you get the correct numbers, you can go to high school and college. Get the wrong numbers, you're a loser, but life's just a game anyway, and The Toss gives everyone the same chance.

This may be aimed at kids/young teens, but the writing and story are not extremely simplistic or childish, so I think older teens and even adults would find the story here intriguing and enjoyable. (I'm 22 and I did!)

The book, Survivng Anarctica: Reality TV 2083, is about 5 kids, all with unique talents. They must make there way to the South Pole if they want to have a bright future. Everything they do is broadcasted, and the Secretary, head of EDUTV, has plans of making their trip really difficult.
Steve has just been choosen for the night crew at EDUTV. He has been watching the kids. He has also been talking to them through the voice. He has to leave them during a life and death situation for one of the kids. Wanting to talk to the kids to help, he develops aplan to get in. He made a fake pipe bomb to scare the workers to let him in. Does it work, you will have to read to find out.
You don't only have to read Surviving Anarctica: Reality TV 2083 to find out what happens with Steve, but it is an awesome book. If your going to die soon, make sure you read this book, because you do not want to miss out. Even if your not going to die read this book. This book has action, people getting bit by dogs, attempted break ins at EDUTV, one kid sneaking candy to Antarctica, and finally, a possible amputation. The suspense of this book will keep you on the edge of your seat. You'll always be wondering, will they make it? You have to read it to find out.

Imagine a world where there are no public schools and only the extremely rich can afford to go to high school and beyond. Those not fortunate enough to be wealthy have to rely on "The Toss" that occurs once a year. All the fourteen-year-old teens gather for their opportunity to roll the dice. If the correct combination comes up (which changes for every person), they are awarded a scholarship for continued schooling. If you don't roll the correct combination, there is no education in your future.

For all children younger than fourteen, school consists of television. Programming is Historical Simulation Reality Shows, similar to today's Survivor. People are put in scenarios such as Civil War battles, the Alamo, and Egyptian Pyramid building. Intermingled with the show are quizzes about content and vocabulary.

This is the world five young people find themselves in during the year 2083. All five fourteen-year-old teens have lost their toss and can't afford to pay their own way through high school and college. So, when they see an advertisement offering a chance to participate in the latest survival show--this one involving kids instead of adults--they waste no time putting in their application for Historical Antarctica Survivor. Everyone that makes it to the end of the journey receives $10,000--enough for a year of high school. The person voted Most Valuable Player by the viewers will receive an additional $90,000.

After receiving a few days of snow and ice survival training, the kids take off for their adventure. As soon as they arrive at the Antarctic though, they understand just how dangerous the trip is going to be. Alone in the icy wilderness, the kids must survive natural and orchestrated calamities in order to make it to the end of the game. With the aid of an unlikely helper, the kids just might make it through.

Andrea White creates an interesting look at a possible future society. SURVIVING ANTARCTICA: REALITY TV 2083 is an exciting page-turner. Once the reader begins the story, they won't mind being snowed in until they finish.

Reviewed by: Karin Perry

This book is about the future where T.V. Was part of the government and a T.V. Historical survivor series is putting 5 kids in the Artic to survive to the north pole. When Robert falls down the crevasse and Andrew saves him is my favorite part that sticks to my memory the best. Andrew is the most interesting because for a boy who does not have talents he finds more courage then a boy should have to find. My opinion change a lot because I thought all the kids would make it to the pole but I always knew that Hot Sauce would get what was coming to her. I'd recommend this book to those who believe you don't have to have talents to be brave.

This book is about the adventures of some very brave kids and their journey through Antarctica, and how people with different qualities have to work together in order survive. My favorite character would have to be Steve because he helps the children and takes a lot of risks for the kids' lives. My opinion of this book did change from when we first started reading the book, to the end because it started out kink of slow but it picked up the pace really fast. The part that stands out the most to me would be when Steve saves the kids and threatens the whole Department of Education with a bomb. But over all I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend this book to people that like adventures and suspense. I hope you enjoy this book.