3.5 stars

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Jared Stone is dying and has found out he only has about four months to live. Worried about his family’s financial future when he’s gone, Stone signs up for a reality TV show where cameras can follow him and his family’s lives until he dies.

This was a really interesting premise and for the most part I think it lived up to what I thought it was going to be. The story combines the heartbreak of a family losing someone they cherish with the almost comical strangeness of having the precious moments trampled over by film crews and fame. The whole thing is very Kardashian but with people who just want to be normal. I think it also highlighted our world’s dangerous and often unethical obsession with reality TV and raises the question of how far is too far? How private is too private? etc.

I thought the author’s decision to personify the tumour was really interesting and for me, it reminded me of cancer patients and survivors naming their tumours to make them seem less scary. I don’t know much about human neurology but I found the path of the tumour and what it did to Jared’s body fascinating.

I also hated what happened to Trebuchet. I understand why it was put in for the sake of the storyline but just the thoughts of it hurt my heart so much :(

I didn’t really bond to any of the characters in this book to be honest. A majority of them I found a bit annoying, though I could definitely understand Jackie and her situation. I did think the obsessive, weird nun was a bit much too.

But this was a really fast read, I more or less read it in a day and it definitely made me think about some things in our TV-laden world and what’s important and what’s not. An entertaining book by all means (though not as sad as I thought it would be!)