Quick-fire Book Review: Something Real by Heather Demetrios

Something Real
Author: Heather Demetrios
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: February 4th 2014
Review Source: Purchased

Winner of the 2012 PEN New England Discovery Award!

There’s nothing real about reality TV.

Seventeen-year-old Bonnie™ Baker has grown up on TV—she and her twelve siblings are the stars of one-time hit reality show Baker’s Dozen. Since the show’s cancellation and the scandal surrounding it, Bonnie™ has tried to live a normal life, under the radar and out of the spotlight. But it’s about to fall apart…because Baker’s Dozen is going back on the air. Bonnie™’s mom and the show’s producers won’t let her quit and soon the life she has so carefully built for herself, with real friends (and maybe even a real boyfriend), is in danger of being destroyed by the show. Bonnie™ needs to do something drastic if her life is ever going to be her own—even if it means being more exposed than ever before.

At a Glance:
At first I was all like “okay this book will be alright,” the synopsis is what drew me in more, wanting to find out what this scandal was all about. Thought it would be interesting to see reality show through a different view, behind the camera.

Cover:
The cover is fun! So much color, and definitely what Bonnie’s life is, a television screen.

Action:
Ready, Set, ACTION – okay in Something Real they have the cameras rolling 24/7 throughout the house for the reality show A Baker’s Dozen. But man the shady acts that go on behind the scenes are intense! I just never thought reading this book how mad I would get at people producing the show, the stories they stream, and what they would do for ratings. The fights in this book just make your skin crawl! Bonnie Baker will take serious action to make her sure her life is her own.

Heroine/Hero:
I love Bonnie, but for her sake I’ll stick to the name she wants to be called, Chloe. Chloe just evolves throughout the book; you can just see her grow up in the amount of time the book covers. She doesn’t just evolve on her own though, she has the help from her brother, boyfriend, best friends, and anger that has built up over the years of being displayed for the whole world to see.

Romance:
Ahhh the romance in this book just made me swoon like no other. Patrick how I love thee! He fights for his girl and will not let the drama of the show or Bonnie herself get in his way of a happy ending. And their romance wasn’t only swoon worthy romance, Benny and Matt, they’re so in love it hurts.

Something I loved:
The characters, Bonnie/Chloe, sometimes that girl I could just slap her, but I know she did what she thought was the only way to save the loved ones from what she has experienced her entire life. I also loved seeing a different view in reality television and now wonder why anyone would subject themselves to such scrutiny.

Would I recommend it?
Of course! I did not think I would fall in love with this book as much as I did, but I did. All of a sudden I was attached to it; I needed to know what was going to happen next.