With a clear, authentic voice, Boy vs Reality takes a critical look at online fame vs everyday family life. Author James Fox encourages readers to consider the truth of what they’re seeing online, underlying messages, potential bias and the real person behind the lens. Questions about children’s consent, celebrity families and the role social media plays in our lives will challenge both adults and children to think carefully about how they interpret (and what they post) online.
10-year-old Ethan is part of a famous online vlogging family. His parents YouTube channel, “Meet the Laceys”, has one million subscribers. His parents share every detail of their lives – every celebration, every milestone and every embarrassing moment. It’s very much ‘keeping up appearances” as Ethan and his older brother Mason are never allowed to let the facade fall. According to their dad, everything is content – whether they like it or not.
Ethan struggles with anxiety. No matter how many times he feeds his worries on little bits of paper to his anxiety monster, Fidget, it just gets worse. It doesn’t help that Mason is awful to him, constantly bullying, threatening and trying to embarrass him online. Ethan’s sticky thoughts won’t go away, building up into bigger worries until he doesn’t know what to do. When Ethan spots a strange message on Mum’s phone, he realises their happy family really isn’t. Everything is about to fall apart.
Ethan loves to visit his grandad in a nearby care home. Mum doesn’t have much time to visit Grandad and he doesn’t really fit in with the vibe of their channel. Struggling with memory, Grandad is overjoyed to see Ethan and just wants to go back to the way life used to be – in his own house, with his wife and lovely family. Ethan can’t understand why Mum won’t make time for Grandad – it’s just another consequence of fame.
Once again, the incredibly talented James Fox has created a hugely engaging book that is as important for adults as it is for children. Although very different circumstances from The Boy in the Suit, I really felt for Ethan and wanted to help him protect his privacy and sense of self. He knows what’s right but doesn’t know how to change his family situation. Questioning morality, honesty and integrity, Ethan’s story reminds us that the families we see online aren’t always as perfect as they seem and you can’t just edit real life. This funny, heartfelt book will be incredibly helpful for teachers in exploring YouTube aspirations, the concept of online celebrity and protecting our privacy in the digital world. In a time of YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, Boy vs Reality is exactly what we all need.
Thank you to Tina Mories and Scholastic UK for a copy of this important book!
Read my review of The Boy in the Suit below:
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