The Real Unreal

by Ryan Wolf

Nate Reilly is having the worst summer of his life. His parents are never home, he lost his job, and his arts program was cancelled due to a virus outbreak. When Nate comes across an online "game" that promises forbidden knowledge, he is quick to click the link. Soon, he finds himself plunged down a rabbit hole of strange theories, dark plots, and fanatical believers. As he grows alienated from his family and friends, Nate is consumed by his newfound ideas. But can he unplug from a destructive alternate reality before he takes it too far?

180 pages, Library Binding

Published August 16, 2023

About the author

Ryan Wolf is the author of the young adult novels Watches and Warnings, Control Room, The Real Unreal, Songs for the Offseason, and Doubling the Bounty. He also crafted the Creeper Critter Keepers chapter book series for children, as well as Moving Through Walls, The Memory Vampires, Darkness at Dreamer Mountain, and Rulers of a Dead Planet for middle graders. Wolf holds his B.A. from Canisius College and his M.A. in the humanities from the University of Chicago. He has published work in The Buffalo News, Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Quadrangle Literary Magazine, and Artvoice Newsweekly. He currently lives in Buffalo, NY with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Rosen Publishing Group, West 44 Books, and Ryan Wolf for the opportunity to read The Real Unreal in exchange for an honest review.

"You have to be careful with rumors...They can spread like a virus."

Told as a HiLo novel-in-verse, The Real Unreal explores the power of rumors and conspiracy, especially when talking with other people over the internet.

Nate wants to go to college for the arts, so he does an art program every summer with The Lodge. Well this summer, his class is cancelled because there isn't enough staffing...due to a virus making people sick. This is post-COVID, so there is a familiarity to Nate's perception of what yet another lockdown will look like. With no job or art class to entertain his summer, Nate falls to the dark recesses of the internet.

Finding himself exploring a comment about The Lodge, his favorite summer abode for the arts, Nate discovers The Lodge might be something of a sinister place. When he gets involved in exploring these rumors, he finds himself with some crazy people and possibly more trouble than he thought he would be exposed to.

A thoroughly enjoyable and fast-paced novel that explores the dark side of isolation and rumor. Especially with our youth on the internet, knowing a reliable source from fake news is currently a needed skill. Nate falls to the strange conspiracy of rumors surrounding a building he once found familiar, but he learns a lesson about meeting people in person who he initially met online and the risk involved.

I found this to be an intriguing read, though the second half seemed to go a little over-the-top for my taste. But it is fitting with the title, making the reader question what is really real or unreal, and how sometimes the most absurd of situations are the truth of reality, while some surmises are the farthest from the truth. A great book for a young adult audience.

[Joey Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Rosen Publishing / West 44 and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Nate is left alone a lot at home, with no school and no job and a virus sweeping the world he takes to the internet, finding himself swept up in the dark web and finding out things he wishes he never knew.

This was really interesting, a great book for young adults, the internet is filled with dark spaces and I liked that it showed how easy it was to access it all. Nate starts reading and is instantly hooked, feeling like he is just learning new things but is actually being dragged into a darker place.

I liked that it showed how quick you can believe a conspiracy from someone and that it can overcome everything else in your life, make you fall for it, make you trust everything they are sharing with, and make you do dangerous and dark things all for the sake of the belief you have formed with this conspiracy.

What I really liked was that Nate eventually learns that it was all a conspiracy, he questioned and didn’t just believe everything and after the events unfolded he later learnt his lesson, but because of his mistake he was haunted by the errors of his past. I did like the consequences for him, I liked that he had to repay for what he’d done and it was interesting how he lead the way for others to start in the wrong direction, it was very cleverly done.

It was a very fascinating read and I liked the darkness, and the direction it took. I really enjoy reading books in verse they are so unique and interesting. It’s a great book and shares the deeper and darker side to the internet and how it’s all much to easy to access and got roped into.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s crazy how quickly people can fall for conspiracy theories!