Amy Wright thinks her boyfriend is surprising her with a dream holiday to pop the big question - they've been together for two years now so surely it must be about time? But the dream turns into a nightmare when she removes her blindfold and finds herself on the set of The Shelf, a Big Brother-style style reality television show. WTAF?!
Along with five other women, Amy is dumped live on TV in front of a studio audience and millions of viewers watching from home.
The women must compete in a series of humiliating and obnoxious tasks in the hope of being crowned The Keeper.
Amy initially stays on The Shelf with the million-pound prize in mind. But, empowered by the women around her, and with a month to think about what she really wants (without constantly comparing herself to everyone else's filtered online lives), she might come away with an even bigger reward.
This fun, relatable, honest and satirical look at society's obsession with settling down, coupling up, having the courage to be enough on your own will strike a chord with anyone who's been asked 'why are you still single?'.
Initial thoughts:The Shelf was a breath of fresh air. Being dumped on reality TV would surely rank highly on anyone’s list of worst nightmares and yet, I’m sure that if it actually ran on TV, many of us wouldn’t be able to tear our eyes away from our screens. I felt the same way about the book — I couldn’t tear myself away once I started reading.
While the producers set out to help the contestants on the show become “more palatable relationship material,” I loved that the women turned these expectations upside down. They challenged outdated women’s roles while embracing their very differing life goals as well. Best of all, each of these feisty women grew to be so secure in their identities, and that’s something I’ll never stop cheering for.
