REVIEW for The Real Real

A huge thank you goes out to Melissa at HarperCollins for sending me this great book!





TITLE: The Real Real

AUTHORS: Emma McLaughlin and
Nicola Kraus

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars


I enjoy reading authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus and was very excited to discover this YA novel. I loved verything about this book! from the cover (which is perfect for this storyline) to the plot as well as the main character.

The Real Real is a fun read that made me want to go back to school and live the fantasy that our main character actually got to live. Yes, Jesse O'Rourke is living the life that so many high school students would LOOOOVVE to lead - she is picked to star in the documentary about school life - she is now one of the "special" people. Although she is not all that enthused about it at first, when she gets a look at the pay cheque attached to the project, she gets right on board.

Although everything is great at first, Jesse will soon find herself having to make some very tough choices and will have to look deep inside herself to figure out what is really important in her life - and she will have to do this while some pretty glamourous stuff is going on.

First off, this book touched on a subject that is close to my heart - I have always wondered what it would be like to have a camera follow me around all day - to make me the "star" of my own life and have it all on tape. It sounds like such fun. The authors also introduced us to a very likeable character, a very "everyday" person that all of us could easily identify with - who just happened to have been handed a once in a lifetime opportunity and I think this added to my enjoyment of this book - Jesse was no "glam" girl and was/is down to earth (for the most part).

The struggle that Jesse finds herself in is very interesting and although, on the surface, her life was perfect - it was actually loaded with many obstacles and the authors did a good job of showing us the inner (and other) struggles Jesse went/goes through - which reminded me that "we should be careful what we ask for" and that "the grass is often greener on the other side".

This was a terrific read with both some wonderful fantasy moments, but also some very real moments that yell out that life can never be totally perfect - and all we can ask of ourselves is the be as real as possible.

Perfect read for YA and even for us grown ups :)