I only read the first few chapters of this book and I really want to continue it.
It happens in a future dystopian world where most people are poor. The main character is a teenage girl who lives with her younger sister and sick grandmother. In order to get money to get medicine for her grandmother she interviews for a job where she is supposed to either review or endorse (I'm not sure) children's toys and books.
In reality, the job is a reality TV show but none of the participants know this.
The protagonist cares for her grandmother, who is not well.
The only part of this that really registered on Amy was “union pay and full medical benefits.” My God, that could mean hospital care for Gran, a safe apartment, enough to eat . . . Much more fiercely than she intended, she turned on the woman. “Would I be able to put my grandmother on my medical care? I’m her sole support.”
The woman blinked. “You’re guardian for your grandmother? At sixteen?”
“Not legally. But she’s ill and I take care of her.”
She wants money for medicine for her grandmother:
Money for whatever medicine Gran might need, a new TV instead of an old pawned one, new jeans—
She isn't quite her sister's guardian:
Gran was Kaylie’s guardian and had been Amy’s until she turned sixteen.
Given that her grandmother is ill, though, she does take care of her.
She is selected for a reality TV show:
“I’m Alex Everett,” the bald man said. “Before we do the rest of the introductions, let me explain for those of you who still don’t understand what you’re doing here.” He winked at Amy, who kept her face as blank as she could manage. “You lucky seven have been chosen from hundreds of applicants for Taunton Life Network’s newest show, Who Knows People, Baby—You? Myra Townsend and I are the producers, and this is how the show works.”
I couldn't find anything about endorsing toys or books, but the rest is an exact match.
