11 Books About Reality TV
Reality TV is a pretty divisive subject. On the one hand, some people believe it contains zero nutritional value (cough, hi, mom) while others can’t get enough of the intrigue and drama that comes with watching strangers live their lives. Whether you keep up with the Kardashians daily or wanted to move to Laguna Beach to hang with Lauren Conrad and her friends, reality TV often exposes some very important truths about ourselves and our culture, whether that’s an obsession with wealth and fame, the pursuit of love, or the struggles we can overcome. Sure, most of the storylines are pretty crafted and heavily edited, but the TV shows we can’t stop watching often flip the mirror right back at us and force us to take a second look at what we think we know.
If you can’t get enough of your favorite reality TV shows, why not pick up a book inspired by the genre? There have been plenty of novels based on the phenomenon, including the massively popular The Hunger Games. If your shows are stuck in reruns, check out these titles and have the best of both worlds.
1/12If you can’t get enough of your favorite reality TV shows, why not pick up a book inspired by the genre? There have been plenty of novels based on the phenomenon, including the massively popular The Hunger Games. If your shows are stuck in reruns, check out these titles and have the best of both worlds.
2/12The L.A. Candy series by Lauren Conrad
Is there anything Lauren Conrad can’t do? LC, who got her start on reality TV thanks to starring turns in *Laguna Beach * and *The Hills, * added “writer” to her resume with the publication of her series, *L.A. Candy. * The books are about a regular girl who moves to Los Angeles and — surprise! — ends up with her own reality show. Sound familiar? Not so fast: Lauren has said that the novels weren’t based on her actual life in front of the cameras, but regardless, if anyone can write a book about being a young woman on reality TV, it’s her.
3/12Rebels: City of Indra by Kendall and Kylie Jenner
Ah, the teen dystopian novel that *Keeping Up with the Kardashians * built. Kendall and Kylie Jenner teamed up with co-writers to create the futuristic world of Indra and its inhabitants, twin orphan Lex and Livia. Kendall and Kylie didn’t stop with *Rebels, * either; they added a second book, *Time of the Twins, * to the series in 2016.
4/12Nerve by Jeanne Ryan
*Nerve * is about Vee, who is cast in a TV show of high-stakes dares that play out right before viewers’ eyes. It’s a cutthroat game, and Vee has to think fast to stay alive as she plays. (The book was turned into a film, starring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, last year.)
5/12Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
What if beauty pageant contestants were stranded on an island together after a plane crash — and the cameras kept rolling? Libba Bray answers the question in her hilarious book, *Beauty Queens. * It cleverly pokes fun at our obsession with pageants and with those Survivor-style reality shows all while teaching readers a valuable lesson about self-love.
6/12The Real Real by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Krauss
Raise your hand if you wanted to have your own reality show after seeing *Laguna Beach * and *The Hills. * We thought so. *The Real Real * is based on the time-honored idea of regular kids at a regular high school who are famous via the golden touch of television. In it, we meet high school senior Jess, who is chosen to star in a reality TV show set at her fancy high school. Of course, nothing on TV is ever really what it seems, and Jess’s life changes as she navigates her new job and its accompanying fame.
7/12Something Real by Heather Demetrios
Someone was bound to write a book about the shows featuring families with lots of kids, like Jon & Kate Plus 8. *Something Real * is the story of Bonnie™ (yes, it’s written like that!), whose family starred in one such show until it was cancelled. Since then, Bonnie™ has tried to live a normal life like any other high school girl, but the show comes back to airwaves. She has to figure out what’s really important to her and find her voice before she becomes just another character on TV.
8/12Taste Test by Kelly Fiore
Do you fall into a hole of *Chopped * marathons on the weekends? We do too. *Taste Test * is about a reality show similar to the cooking competition. It stars Nora, who’s been cooking her whole life. She thinks she’s going on a TV show about cooking, but it’s so much more than that … someone’s trying to kill the contestants! *Taste Test * brings a whole new meaning to the concept of being “chopped.”
9/12Watch Me by Lauren Barnholdt
*The Real World *’s classic concept of seven strangers picked to live in a house together, only to find out what happens when you stop being polite and start being real (sorry) is one that’s perfect for translating to books. *Watch Me * centers around Ally, a girl who is cast on a *Real World *-style show, and the pressures that you face when your whole life — and your romantic drama — is being played for ratings.
10/12The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
We had to include it. If you haven’t yet read this series, about a yearly “fight to the death” battle between kids hosted on live TV by an evil government, what are you waiting for? (Reading a story about a dystopian society in the present day might feel a little unsettling, however.)
11/12You Don’t Know Me by Sophia Bennett
Can you imagine going on a *The Voice * or American Idol-esque reality show with your BFF and bandmate and being told by judges that one of you has to be cut? That’s what happens to besties Sash and Rose. What do they decide to do? Does friendship win over fame? What would you choose?
