Book Review: Life Just Got Real by Sadie Robertson

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Life Just Got Real
Author: Sadie Robertson
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genres: Contemporary | Realistic Fiction
Released: June 7th 2016
Review Source: Howard Books

From Dancing with the Stars runner-up and Duck Dynasty star Sadie Robertson comes a fun novel about two teenage girls from different backgrounds and opposite lifestyles who discover there is more to friendship than meets the eye.

Sixteen-year-old A.J. Smith, born and raised in backwoods Tennessee, loves nothing more than repairing broken cars with her father and hanging out with her brothers and their friends. Not far away in the busy city of Nashville, Kate Kelly is always dressed in the latest fashion, wearing clothes from her mother’s boutique and jetting around the world with her father.

When A.J. starts going to the school Kate attends, they instantly dislike each other. But as the year progresses, Kate’s brother Val is drawn to A.J., and when prom comes around, he asks her to be his date—much to his sister’s displeasure. But Kate has bigger things to think about, including the reality show Real Life. Everyone says the show is her chance to make it big. But then the producers decide to bring A.J. into the show.

As the producers of Real Life try to stir up the drama, Kate’s idea of the perfect prom spins out of control. When Kate’s life goes disastrously wrong, it is A.J. who steps up to help—no questions asked. A friendship between the two girls just might grow—but only if they both live original and stay true to whom God made them to be.

In Life Just Got Real Sadie Robertson inspires teens to find the value God has placed inside us all and to live with confidence and purpose in a very complicated world.

This book follows the stories of AJ and Katie. Both juniors in High school not realizing how close their opposite lives are about to get.

Katie is the daughter of a big-time businessman and a successful boutique owning mother. She’s polished, academically accomplished, and heavily involved in school. She’s had what most people would describe as an easy life, though she puts a lot of stress on herself. Contrasting that, we have AJ. Originally from Louisiana, AJ has grown up covered in car grease from her late father’s mechanics shop and being one of the guys being raised alongside two older brothers.

After her father’s death, AJ, her mother, and brothers move to Tennessee. This is where she meets Katie. At this same time, Katie’s father is sealing a deal with a company to film a reality show in her high school.

Through AJ’s differing character, her blossoming relationship with Katie’s brother, and the new perspective she adds to the community, she is cast to be a member of the reality show. However, this was not without a battle.

It was nice to read about AJ’s romantic relationship with Katie’s brother and how she was so aware of herself and her emotions throughout. It was also interesting to see just how vastly she differed from Katie. This book was set up so each chapter was from the point of view of either Katie or AJ so the reader could get first person dialogue from the main characters.

The book was an easy read, the storyline was just a little young for me. I would recommend this book to a young girl between 11 and 13 years old. The conversations being held and the overall plot wasn’t anything necessarily new or reinvented.