Believing they have been sent into space, ten teenagers, who were cast on a shady reality show, find themselves trapped when communications with the outside world are severed. - (Baker & Taylor)

"Cram ten hormonal teens into a spaceship and blast off: that's the premise for the ill-conceived reality show Waste of Space. The kids who are cast know everything about drama--and nothing about the fact that the production is fake"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

Cast in a bogus reality show designed to emulate a space mission, 10 teens become subject to the drama and scrutiny of fame before their communication is severed and they are challenged to survive while trapped in a desert warehouse set. By the author of the Croak trilogy. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

Cram ten hormonal teens into a spaceship and blast off: that’s the premise for the ill-conceived reality show Waste of Space. The kids who are cast know everything about drama—and nothing about the fact that the production is fake. Hidden in a desert warehouse, their spaceship replica is equipped with state-of-the-art special effects dreamed up by the scientists partnering with the shady cable network airing the show.
     And it’s a hit! Millions of viewers are transfixed. But then, suddenly, all communication is severed. Trapped and paranoid, the kids must figure out what to do when this reality show loses its grip on reality.


   - (HARPERCOLL)

Booklist Reviews

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 viewers—and 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. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

School Library Journal Reviews

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