Book Review: The Next Big Thing by Johanna Edwards

By Amanda Linsmeier

The Next Big Thing by Johanna Edwards is a dishy novel about the realities of reality TV. Kat Larson is a size 18 who would like to be a size 4. That’s what her online boyfriend thinks she is anyway. Kat, in an effort to impress Nick, a British hunk, told him she was thinner than she really is...a lot thinner. And while they’ve never met, Kat entertains the idea that she’s in love. Problem is, Nick wants to meet her, and Kat knows he’d be in for way more than he bargained for. Then inspiration strikes when Kat’s best friend Donna tells her about a new reality TV show. When Kat applies for the show, she is shocked and elated to find out that she’s been chosen. “From Fat to Fabulous” is the answer to Kat’s prayers, right? Not only will she lose weight but she’ll win money. With her new confidence and sexy body, she and Nick can finally meet and start their life together. But Kat is in for a big surprise. Reality TV is not what she thought it would be. Nicknamed “Kat the Brat” by viewers, Kat isn’t sure she’s happy about what she signed up for, but when she gets a surprise guest, things start to look a whole lot worse.

I hate to say it but alright, I admit it, I didn’t like Kat. I thought she really was a brat. And whiny, immature and naive. I thought the premise of the novel was good. It was like looking behind the scenes, and I did enjoy that aspect. I really liked some parts of the book, like the secondary characters and the funny things that happened on the reality show, but overall I found several things wrong. There seemed to be lots of holes in the plot. For example, I got very excited about some of the challenges they had to do such as one contestant posing nude for art students, but that scene wasn’t even written, just briefly talked about. It would have been nice to be included in those sorts of things. Also, Kat finds out one of the girls has been talking about her and she’s upset, but then a few scenes later, they are hugging like nothing ever happened. Kat also suspects a contestant of getting in unfairly but that conspiracy theory is never developed. Besides that, the novel never really gets into the weight loss struggles while they are on the show or how Kat feels, it’s like she loses weight and her issues are over. I thought it would be more like “The Biggest Loser,” but the author really skimmed over the actually weighty stuff like exercise or body image. There was no blood, sweat or tears. Since Kat didn’t seem to really care, I couldn’t bring myself to care either. Stuff like that really bugged me. In the end, I sort of liked this novel, but while I may someday read more by this author, I probably won’t be picking this book up again.