Survival Show

Name: Survival Show
Rating: 4.019 (108 reviews)
ISBN: 9798347110582

By Juno Dawson

Publisher Description

Three starred reviews!

American Idol meets The Hunger Games in this “chilling, satirical dystopian adventure” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) about a teen betting her life that her singing talent can make her a star from the celebrated author of This Book Is Gay, Juno Dawson.

The world just seems to take and take from Taryn Beck, but there’s one thing it’ll never have: her voice. Only when she’s singing does Taryn feel like she can escape her reality—free from the aftermath of the War, free from the Scottish refugee camps where she and her family now live, and free from the responsibility of making ends meet for the sake of her sick brother.

Taryn’s voice is her one ticket out, and that’s why she enters to be a contestant on the world’s most watched television program: Starmaker, where kids from the New Peace Global Alliance compete for the chance to join an all-singing, all-dancing pop group. Rise to the top, and a life of luxury, stardom, and money awaits.

There’s only one small catch. The lowest ranking face a televised public execution. Starmaker thanks their participants for their noble sacrifice to Project Population.

Taryn’s about to sing for her life.

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Survival Show Reviews

4.0

TheCoverContessa

Created 2 days ago

“Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own. I didn't even read the blurb for this one before I requested it because it's Juno Dawson and I really have loved all the books I've read from her. Then I got approved and read the blurb and thought to myself, Hunger Games and American idol merged? I'm so glad I signed up. I was ready for all the gruesome fun and gory details. This book, on it's own, is absolutely dystopian. Set in a future where lands have been washed away by the sea, countries have merged and/or been renamed, and most people are hurting just to stay afloat, we meet Taryn Beck. A girl with a fantastic voice who just wants her brother to be ok. She enters Starmaker, a TV show contest where contestants sing and dance their way to the top, or get eliminated, literally. All she wants is to win the whole thing so she can afford the medication her brother needs to survive. But things aren't always what they seem and there's a true sinister plot behind the show and Taryn is determined to bring them all down. Things I enjoyed from this book: The premise! I love the idea of an American Idol type show where contestants sing and dance to advance or get put to death. It definitely had a Hunger Games feel to it throughout. While I've read many books that have a Hunger Games type theme, I've not read anything this unique. The character diversity! For the most part, I found the characters intriguing. I like that Dawson chose so many different people to represent for this story. The politics! Of course a dystopian novel would not be dystopian without political intrigue and villains who want to always stay on top and keep the little man down. I definitely felt the cast system in this book. Things that could have been better: The characters themselves. I liked them enough, most were relatable. But for me they just were not fleshed out as well as they could have been. It was hard for me to keep them straight many times and then when I did remember who they were, there wasn't anything truly unique for most of them to make them stand out. The progression of the story. I found the pacing off in this book, It wasn't that it was very slow, but there were parts where I felt like I had to push through and didn't feel like they really leant anything to the actual story line. The world building. When I read a dystopian book, I have to know why it's dystopian. While we are told why to a certain degree, we are not ever shown why. It's like Dawson threw it at us and then said, "you'll just have to believe what I'm writing." I can usually suspend my disbelief and picture the world, but the details and the reasoning for the war that happened making the world the way it is now just wasn't clear to me at all. I struggled to understand why I would care about anything that was happening to Taryn or exactly how her family was in the position they were in due to events of the past. Plus, the timeline was a bit confusing to me. It seemed like this war was pretty recent, that Taryn remembers the time before it all. But she's only 17 and I had a hard time believing this was true. The romance. Yep, could have done without this. Honestly, there was almost no point to it. And I didn't feel any of the chemistry or emotional attachment needed to really make what happens towards the end (I won't spoil it) even make a difference in Taryn's story. The whole tale could definitely had been told without ever having any romance at all. Overall, this was a decent story, I found it fun but not amazing. This is my least favorite title I've read from this author (and Her Majesty's Royal Coven got 5 stars from me across the board for all the books). The pacing, world building, and overall character development of this book could have used a bit more tweaking for me. But if you're looking for a fun YA with high stakes and a good amount of drama, pick this one up!”

MandiD

Created 2 days ago

“The story was interesting but felt flat. I was expecting it to be descriptive. MCs trauma bond but doesn’t really show how they’ve connected. It’s all very superficial and lacks depth. I did enjoy the story just felt lacking overall.”

Likeable Limited character growth Predictable but satisfying Lack of depth Easy to read Simplistic Death Grief Murder Violence

dvfernandes

Created 5 days ago

Jackie K

Created 8 days ago

Snaxolotl111

Created 8 days ago

“Even though this is a YA (and I’m wayyyyyy past the target demographic), I still found it enjoyable to read. It’s a dystopian tale about a pop idol type show. It’s done really well and reminds me of the classic dystopian movies/stories from the 80’s. I most definitely recommend it as it’s an easy read and quite the page turner (except for a few chapters around the 70% mark-yes, this is why it’s been stuck on my currently reading list at 70% for three months). I’ve finally finished it, hooray.”

About Juno Dawson

Juno Dawson is a #1 Sunday Times (London) bestselling novelist, screenwriter, and journalist and a columnist for Attitude magazine. Juno’s books include the global bestsellers This Book Is Gay and Clean. She also writes for television and has multiple shows in development both in the UK and US. Juno grew up in West Yorkshire, writing imaginary episodes of Doctor Who. She later turned her talent to journalism, interviewing luminaries such as Steps and Atomic Kitten before writing a weekly serial in a Brighton newspaper. Her writing has appeared in Glamour, The Pool, Dazed, and The Guardian. She has appeared on Pointless Celebrities, BBC Women’s Hour, ITV News, Channel 5 News, This Morning, and Newsnight. Juno lives in Brighton. She is a part of the queer cabaret collective known as Club Silencio. In 2014, Juno became a School & College Role Model for the charity Stonewall.