Everybody Knows Your Name

I read this hoping to be able to book talk it to junior high kids because I think the concept (reality TV love story!) is something that will be easy to sell but I think the material is a little too much for me to comfortably tell a whole class about–the first chapter has a super drunk actress, there's a big plot line about drug dealers, etc–but I think that a lot of teens will dig it.

I liked it okay... I always love behind-the-scenes reality TV stuff, and I especially liked Magnolia's ongoing rants about how adults always expect teens to change their minds but teens should just live in the moment, man. I think that's a good message.

(It was... interesting... that all the side characters here are diverse but our 2 protagonists were white. Still: Mila was probably my favorite character, so... hooray for that I guess. Also, class diversity, in that Ford is from a poor, rural, crimey family.)

Ultimately: a fun, quick read; recommended for fans of reality TV trash!