Description
SING FOR YOUR LIFE!
Taryn Beck and her family don’t have much, and her younger brother needs vital medication to survive. Medication they can’t access or afford. Taryn secretly enters Starmaker, the most watched reality TV show in the world.
The rules are simple; ten young women from all over the globe compete to join an all-singing, all-dancing pop group. If they win, a life of luxury and wealth awaits . . . But there’s a catch: the five eliminated contestants are literally eliminated.
Taryn soon realises that reality TV is far from real – as she and her fellow trainees are pitted against each other in cruel challenges, she is determined to expose this brutal regime and destroy Starmaker from the inside.
Get ready for the performance of Taryn’s life. The explosive new YA novel from Juno Dawson.
Review
Set in an post-apocalyptic world after a war and horrific floods, Taryn and her family find themselves living in what is called a Survivor’s Camp in Scotland, having fled a part of England that is now underwater. After her mother died and with a seriously ill brother, struggling doesn’t even come close to describing the situation her family finds themselves in.
Taryn remembers her Mum’s beautiful voice, and hopes to emulate her by auditioning for the world’s biggest reality show, Starmaker. Winning would make her rich and famous beyond her wildest dreams, and pay for the medicine her brother desperately needs. But the catch is that to increase ratings the show has teamed up with “Project Population” - an overpopulation initiative that pays people to die (and this is even marketed as a good thing). In the case of the show, this means the losers who are voted off are quite literally eliminated - from life. So when Taryn is chosen as one of the final 10 contestants she is thrilled but conflicted.
She quickly forms an allegiance with Leela, but who can you trust in this situation. As she gets closer to her mentor (and previous winner) Cade, she begins to understand that this is not a real contest. Everything is controlled and predetermined by the show’s owner, Elysium Corporation, and it’s boss, the mega-rich Mr Slade. They will do anything to protect their image, get massive ratings and profit off the winners... even kill. Can Taryn figure out how to stop this evil machine before more people die?
This is a thrilling post-apocalyptic novel that will make the reader think about who really runs the world. Tackling the vast disparity between rich and poor, the value of a life, and the power of the media, it is hard to put down and an edge-of-your seat read until the end. The contestents are completely at the mercy of the powerful, and through the current and former contestants it touches on themes of mental health, eating disorders, addiction, suicide, and the price of fame. This is a gripping read for secondary students aged 14 and up.
