Reality Check by Jen Calonita

It's the dream of a lifetime for Charlie, Keiran, Brooke and Hallie: they are getting their own reality TV show! Their life in a small East Coast beach town may not seem like television material, but reality show producer Susan Strom seems to think their friendship will draw plenty of viewers. The girls are so excited, until they actually start filming. The producers make them re-do conversations and events in order to get it on camera and sometimes want scripted situations. The girls deal with it, until Susan tries to bring on a new character that no one likes while at the same time attempts to write Keiran off the show because she's too boring. How is Charlie going to solve this problem, especially since she has a contract to stick to?

I really enjoyed Reality Check. I watch a lot of reality TV shows, and I always wondered what it would be like to have cameras following me around all the time. By reading this book, I got the other, less-glamorous side of reality TV. How annoying would it be to have to repeat conversations and events because the producer wanted things done a different way? I liked that this book showed that it's not all fun and games when it comes to being on TV. The four main characters were interesting, and all had unique personalities, which I liked. Charlie was my favorite and I liked how she stayed grounded and down-to-earth throughout the book and didn't become crazy due to her newfound fame and money. The plot was good and once again Jen Calonita writes another light and fun book, perfect for those lazy days in the summer.

8 out of 10.

Release Date: Tomorrow! June 14, 2010.

FTC: I received this ARC through the Little Brown HipScouts review program.