Back in January, Kelly created a pretty lengthy booklist of novels featuring reality TV and documentaries. As 2014 has progressed, I’ve seen more and more books on this theme being published and buzzed. (It’s been on my mind since I first picked up The Vault of Dreamers several weeks ago.) Part of the trend for these newer and forthcoming novels seems to be teens creating their own reality shows or videos, usually online via Youtube or something similar. While Kelly rightly mentions that reality television itself peaked in popularity a while ago, I think the Youtube/online angle is something that’s still being explored, and it’s especially attractive to teens since it allows them to flex their own creative muscles.

Here are a few more recent and forthcoming titles that tackle reality TV in some way. Descriptions of currently published novels are from WorldCat; forthcoming titles are from Goodreads.

Can’t Look Away by Donna Cooner [August 2014]
Sixteen-year-old Torrey Grey’s YouTube videos on fashion and beauty for
teenagers were famous, but when her younger sister is killed by a drunk
driver during a filming her world falls apart–cyber bullies are
attacking her, her father moves them to Texas, and she does not know who
to trust at her new school or whether her cousin is really a friend.

Not in the Script by Amy Finnegan [October 2014]
Millions of people
witnessed Emma Taylor’s first kiss—a kiss that needed twelve takes and
four camera angles to get right. After spending nearly all of her teen
years performing on cue, Emma wonders if any part of her life is real
anymore . . . particularly her relationships. Jake Elliott’s face
is on magazine ads around the world, but his lucrative modeling deals
were a poor substitute for what he had to leave behind. Now acting is
offering Jake everything he wants: close proximity to home; an
opportunity to finally start school; and plenty of time with the smart
and irresistible Emma Taylor . . . if she would just give him a chance. But on-set relationships always end badly. Don’t they?

Diamonds in the Rough by Michelle Madow [October 2014]
The three Diamond
sisters survived the summer in style after coming to live with their
long-lost billionaire father. But making a place for themselves at their
exclusive new Las Vegas private school is throwing them any number of
gold-plated curves. Savannah’s YouTube stardom turns into a Sweet
Sixteen reality show extravaganza—with complimentary enemies on the
side. Dangerous flirtations don’t keep Peyton from a gamble that will
risk far more than she planned to bet. And when Courtney and the
sisters’ archenemy, Madison, uncover two explosive secrets, it will rock
even this town of glittering illusion—and turn their lives upside down
all over again.

The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh O’Brien [September 2014]
Rosie Sinclair, who attends an elite arts school where students are
contestants on a high stakes reality show, skips her sleeping pill one
night and discovers that the school is really a cover-up for the
lucrative and sinister practice of dream harvesting.

Scripted by Maya Rock [February 2015, no cover image]
To the people suffering
on the war-torn mainland, Bliss Island seems like an idyllic place. And
it is: except for the fact that the island is a set, and the islanders’
lives are a performance. They’re the stars of a hit TV show, Blissful
Days—Characters are adored by mainland viewers, yet in constant danger
of being cut if their ratings dip too low. And no one really knows what
happens to cut Characters.

Everybody Knows Your Name by Andrea Seigel & Brent Bradshaw [March 2015]
When two teens are cast in Spotlight, a reality TV singing competition,
both see it as their chance to start anew. With each episode, as they
live together in a Hollywood Hills mansion and sing their hearts out,
Ford and Magnolia fall in love. But how genuine can that love be when a
television audience is watching their every move—and when their pasts
are catching up them so much faster than they can run?

The Pretty App by Katie Sise [April 2015]
Poor Blake Dawkins!
She’s rich, she’s gorgeous, and she’s the queen bee of Harrison High.
But it
turns out Blake’s life is not so perfect—just talk to her dad, who
constantly reminds her that she’s not up to par, or to her ex-bff,
Audrey, who doesn’t even look her in the eye. Then Harrison—and
every other high school in America—becomes obsessed with posting selfies
on the ubiquitous Pretty App. Next: Leo, an adorable transfer student,
arrives at Harrison and begins to show Blake that maybe being a queen
bee doesn’t mean being a queen bitch. And though Audrey suspects
somebody’s playing foul, Blake finds herself catapulted to internet fame
after being voted one of the prettiest girls in the country. She’s
whisked away to star in a reality show—in Hollywood, on live TV. But she
doesn’t know who to trust. Because everybody on the show wants to win. And nobody is there to make friends.