Fiction Wednesday - A review of Polly Price's Total Secret Diary: Reality TV Nightmare

Every so often I come across a book that really captures my fancy in a special way. My Totally Secret Diary: On Stage in America by Dee Schulman is just such a book. In the diary, we meet Polly Price, a tween whose mother is an actress. One would think having an actress for a mother would be great, but in Polly's case, her mother is a trial. Truly, she is a trial.

Not long ago I was sent the second book in the series and I was delighted to read and review it. I thought Polly's mother was difficult in the first book, but it would appear that the woman is able to take being insufferable to new heights. My review of this book is below, and tomorrow I have a special treat for you, an interview with the author, Dee Shulman, and with Polly Price, the girl whose life becomes a nightmare.

Polly Price’s Totally Secret Diary: Reality TV Nightmare

Dee Shulman

Fiction

For ages 9 to 12

Red Fox, 2010, 9781862304246

Polly Price is afflicted with a mother who is a high maintenance individual. More than anything, Polly wishes she could have a normal mother who provides edible dinners, lets Polly have friends over, and is only mildly irritating and embarrassing. Instead, Polly’s mother is a highly-strung actress who isn’t happy unless she is the center of attention.

   Life in Polly’s home is never easy, but now it worse than ever because her mother, Arabella Diamonte, has been invited to be a guest on Celebrity Home Watch, a reality TV program. Everyone watches Celebrity Home Watch, which means that everyone will get to peek into the nightmare that is Polly’s home life. So far Polly has managed to keep her mother’s identity a secret, but now the whole world will know the dreadful truth.

   One would think that this dreadful development would be more than enough for one eager-not-to-be-noticed girl, but alas Polly’s life gets worse when her mother hires a life coach to help her get ready for her reality TV debut. The life coach, Vanilla, is a large overbearing woman who turns the house upside down, and who uses runes and tarot cards to make decisions, including determining which days are auspicious for Polly to go to school.

   One would think that with Vanilla to help her, Arabella would be able to manage to make a good impression when the reality TV people come over to shoot their show. Unfortunately, the whole thing turns into a ginormous nightmare for everyone concerned, especially Polly.

   Readers will be hard put not to laugh out loud as they read this second Polly Price diary. They will see that having a celebrity in the family can make life very complicated. Could it be that having a boring ordinary life might not be so bad after all?

   Presented in a diary format, complete with doddles, spelling mistakes, taped in photos and other items, this is a book that truly gets inside a young girl’s mind and heart. Readers will feel Polly’s pain, and celebrate when she somehow manages to come out of the ordeal in one piece.