January 30, 2017
Bentley “Bent” Royce, 16, is the attitude-laden bad-girl daughter of the Royces, a Kardashianesque “famous for being famous” family of reality TV royals. It’s all an act, though, and Bent wants nothing more than to shed her TV persona and go to college. She is thrilled when the head of the studio, Jeff Grunburg, butts heads with Bent’s fame-obsessed mother, Mercedes, and threatens to cancel Rolling with the Royces. But she quickly learns that older sister Porsche’s failing lip gloss collection has wiped out the family’s fortune, and they desperately need season six to keep the family from financial ruin. Stohl (the Icons series) pulls readers into the underbelly of reality TV and the C-list celebrities and wannabes clamoring for a bit of fame. She adroitly weaves together press releases, posts from gossip blogs, tweets, and news articles to add depth and verisimilitude to Bent’s dizzying world. Stohl creates a laugh-out-loud send-up that pulls back the curtain on the unreality of reality TV. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sarah Burnes, Gernert Company.