REALITY CHECK

Four best friends are catapulted to fame when they’re discovered by a producer and showcased in a reality-TV show in which their relationships are put to the test. Sixteen-year-old Charlie and her friends Hallie, Brooke and Keiran sign on to the show with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Things quickly sour for the group as internal tensions rise, exacerbated by the cruel orchestrations of the show’s producer, who pits them against one another in an effort to amp up the drama. Charlie also struggles with a spotlight-avoiding crush who asks her out just as the show begins. The primary characters are predictable, but they are convincingly developed, and the dynamics of the main four’s friendship will be enjoyed by readers who favor novels that explore the inner workings of groups of girls. The criticism of “scripted” reality TV will be appreciated by teens who have grown tired of the seemingly endless succession of these shows. However, Charlie’s love interest is a bit idealized, and the constant designer-name–dropping may irritate all but the most fashion-obsessed. (Fiction. 12-16)