Review: Engrossing
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 25, 2013
An all too relevant story about what happens when paparazzi invade peoples' lives. A class of high-school students is split into three roles - Paparazzi, Celebrities, and Tabloids. The official project is for Paparazzi to look for dirt on Celebrities and work with Tabloids who report it. An unofficial blogger adds fuel to the fire. While aimed at a YA audience, it's a great book for all ages. What I liked most was that it explored issues with humor without downplaying the serious results.My one negative comment is that the teacher, Mrs B, seems to be experienced yet naive. Surely as an educator she would know about the power of experimental role-playing and could guess what young people would do. She might have had a glimmering because she asked the Celebrities for a note from their parents. With good reason. To see how powerful and devastating experimental role-playing can be, search for the famous Stanford Prison Experiment.