Waste of Space

June 26, 2017
In this tongue-in-cheek sendup of reality TV, 10 teens are given the chance to go into space. What they don’t know is that none of it is real: the launch, the spaceplane they are living in, and the problems they face are fabricated by the show’s sleazy production company. The cast members of Waste of Space range from deadly earnest (Jamarkus) and irredeemably geeky (Louise) to naïve (Snout) and normal (Nico), not to mention “the four Golden Tokens: gay, foreigner, disabled, and orphan.” All that, and a pig. As the show progresses and people are voted off the ship, things get out of hand, with tempers fraying, equipment malfunctioning, and inexplicable phenomena suggesting actual extraterrestrial interference. The story unfolds through transcripts, cast confessionals, hidden camera footage, and post-show editing, creating an over-the-top and unpredictable adventure that walks the line between plausibility and absurdity. Damico (Wax) revels in reality show archetypes but throws in a few twists, too. The increasing ambiguity, though, makes it hard to decide how seriously readers should take the conflict and its resolution. Ages 12–up. Agent: Tina Wexler, ICM.

May 1, 2017
Ten teenagers are launched into "space" to entertain insatiable TV audiences in Damico's satirical novel.Everything on TV has already been done. Enter Chazz Young, the CEO of DV8 Productions. Chazz cooks up the idea to send 10 teens into space and to film everything. A shaky collaboration with the scientists of the National Association for the Study of Astronomy and Weightlessness and some expensive special effects result in Waste of Space. The teens aren't actually in space, but they and viewers don't know that. The cast checks every reality TV box, from the ambiguously "exotic" party girl to the black, gay diversity pick. As America tunes in, the teenagers overcome unrealistic space obstacles. Ratings go up, but behind the scenes, cast members are beginning to doubt they're in space, Chazz is desperately trying to up the ante, and NASAW is working on a side project. Suddenly, all transmissions from the "ship" are stopped, and access to it is cut off. None of the teenagers (or Chazz) knows what's going on. All they know is that they're in trouble. Told in aired and unaired video transcripts, phone transcripts, and personal recordings, the information in this novel has been compiled by an unnamed intern-turned-whistleblower. Everything that happens is over-the-top and ludicrous but cleverly crafted, the cynicism slathered on with layers of foulmouthed geniality. Like the TV show it's about, nothing in this novel is as it seems, but the journey to discover the truth is out of this world. (Fiction. 12-18)

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June 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Waste of Space is the newest reality television show produced by Chazz Young and his shady team at DV8. Put 10 teenagers in a spaceship and blast them off into space to face weekly terrors, from aliens to asteroids to raging hormones. What could go wrong? What the teens don't know is that the entire production is a fake, and what Chazz doesn't know is that the scientists he hired for the show have an agenda all their own. The program becomes a national obsession. However, the scientists pull the plug on everyone, leaving the teens, Chazz, and all of America scrambling to find out what is going on. At times, Damico's latest is a hilarious satire with over-the-top caricatures in over-the-top situations; it's also a sweet YA love story of loss and redemption. The two plotlines make the book feel contrived and too long. All the characters are stereotypical, which fits in perfectly with the reality show concept, but some are completely unbelievable. The format jumps from prose to screenplay to monologue, making the narrative sometimes hard to follow. This is a unique and often engaging tale, however. It may find an audience, but as a whole, it misses the mark. VERDICT Intriguing and at times hilarious, but ultimately muddy and too drawn-out. Purchase where funny YA is lacking.-Erik Knapp, Davis Library, Plano, TX

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Science just isn't cool enough for funding anymore. Reality TV has hit a dead zone as well, so there's a compromise to be made: a show that sends teenagers into space. It's all fake, but American viewersand the kids on board the spaceship don't need to know that. Network CEO Chazz joins forces with NASAW (the National Association for the Study of Astronomy and Weightlessness; NASA declined to participate) to trick the world into thinking 10 teens have been shot into space. America tunes in, ratings skyrocket, and all is going according to plan . . . until it isn't. Chazz isn't pulling the strings he thinks he is, and it won't be long before the jig, which grows steadily more ominous, is up. Told almost entirely through transcripts of phone calls, video recordings, and unaired footage, this is a bitingly satirical look at the world of reality TV in the vein of Libba Bray's Beauty Queens (2011). A sure pick for fans of sci-fi spoofs, black humor, and unusual formats.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)