reindeerbandit's review
5.0
an absolute delight. i learned things about one of my favorite topics, had my life-long love of boy bands validated, relived wonderful memories, and, even though i was obviously reading this by myself, felt a connection to all the girls who’ve loved boy bands throughout the years. it was wonderfully illustrated and beautifully designed. honestly 10/10, i finished it and immediately bought 5 copies to send to other boy band-loving friends to add a spot of joy to their bookshelves.
andrearbooks's review
4.0
Larger Than Life: A History of Boy Bands from NKOTB to BTS by Maria Sherman was always going to be my jam - Pun totally and completely intended. Y'all should know that I love boy bands. *NSYNC is my forever #1, and I continue to hold out hope for a reunion. I'd even take that reunion without JT. Anyway, this isn't about me. This book is for every human who ever loved a boy band. What I loved about this was that it covered my own #1, but I got the chance to learn about other bands. I found this especially interesting for the bands that have come after *NSYNC because I haven't had the chance to keep up. I knew much of the information about NKOTB (my first boy band love), BSB (which just kind of happened given when they were biggest), and obvs my guys, but the way it was all packaged together was just so wonderful. It was a definitive history, and I love the trips down memory lane, as well as the window into the experiences of other bands/fandoms. If you've been the one who had their walls plastered with posters, who knew more about the guys in the band than people you actually know in real life, and have spent all the money on merch/CDs/concerts, this book is clearly for you.
kaliaddy's review
2.0
Maybe 2.5 - for the illustrations. I skipped a few sections in some of the chapters for groups I wasn’t into (or groups I never heard of). Doesn’t go into too much depth, so light reading if you know absolutely nothing about boy bands. Could be a starting point of the uninitiated. If nothing else, it may convince you to create a Spotify playlist and reminisce.
merlin_reads's review
3.0
I don't wanna brag, but I'm kind of a boy band guru. It all started with the New Kids and just exploded from there. While I was on the younger side for the New Kids (still a Blockhead to this day), I was the perfect age when NSYNC and BSB hit the mainstream. So to say boy bands are life doesn't even begin to cover it.
This book was given to me as a gift from a friend because of my love and so I sat down to read it, wondering what new information I could gleam about this phenomena. And while there were a few new tidbits to learn - Jesse McCartney wrote the Leona Lewis hit "Bleeding Love", the scale that New Edition was screwed in their contract - most of it was facts that a boy band follower already knew.
One thing that bothered me was how biased the writer was. I get it, fans are loyal to their boy bands but if you're going to write a book on the history of boy bands AND you're an actual music journalist, maybe take the biases out. And in case you're wondering, One Direction was the author's mad love. There were also a few facts on the bands that were incorrect but I mean, there's a lot of information out there, it's just where you go for the source.
This book touches on most of the boy bands to have hit the scene, but it definitely does not cover all. And then there are some condescending tones used when discussing some of the not so known ones. If she hadn't stated it in the beginning, I would have questioned whether she was a fan of boy bands.
Overall, this is a good book for newbie fans looking to start their boy band education. But for those of us who have been here for awhile, it was just all right.
anikaas's review
2.0
2.5 stars
This book started out so well and gosh I love boy bands but it was very white centric.
This book started out so well and gosh I love boy bands but it was very white centric.
readbyara's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
2.75
While the humor didn't always land for me, I still found this book to be generally enjoyable. However, I'm disappointed that New Edition did not get their own dedicated chapter and that B2K was only briefly mentioned. The author states that New Edition was the blueprint for KNOTB and that KNOTB was the blueprint for the bands that followed, so then why not fully delve into that? I also found the section on k-pop and BTS to be lacking with a few of the words/phrases poorly defined (ex: maknae is initially introduced as meaning "the cute one").
meredithmc's review
4.0
I considered myself pretty well versed in boy bands back in their late 90s/early 00s heyday, so this was a lot of fun to read. I know little about the bands of the 80s and more recent years so I learned some stuff too! Now to get back to listening to No Strings Attached for the millionth time...
kaitlinmcnabb's review
3.0
First, I agree that I'm glad this book exists! I was/am a huge boy band fan, growing up in the later years of New Kids on the Block and the peak years of Backstreet Boys, flaming out with NSYNC (and embarrassingly watching Making the Band and carrying a fondness for O Town).
I really liked that Sherman wrote this book less analytically and more as a reference text for timeline and quick tangents and from both a loving perspective of boy bands, which have been so maligned, singling out that the fans are what shaped it and pop culture (quoting Jessica Hopper "replace fangirl with expert and see what happens.")
While I think it wasn't necessary to do a fully fledged deep dive into every boyband (how could she!) and it didn't position itself as such, the book did still did feel like a rush to talk about One Direction, glossing over New Edition, NKOTB, BSB primarily to get there. I think there were some important deets left out, especially the early BSB phase of being edgier and how BSB differed from NSYNC (I maintain BSB were definitely down, and tried to utilized all singers, whereas NYSNC, lead my JT, and overlying on JC and JT, gave off the scent immature boys *and their choreography in their first videos was definitely sped up*). Also I'm pretty sure some of the facts are incorrect, specifically about BSB and quit playin games was on their first CD and when rereleased in the states was still on the first eponymous album, not Backstreet's Back.
That said, not being in the know of Jonas Brothers, One Direction or K Pop, Sherman paints a really fascinating arc of all of them and it was really interesting to read the history of of how boybands have changed and where she thinks they will go.
If you like boybands, you will like parts of this book and probably be frustrated by others, such is our lot in life as boyband fans who homer hard.
Also it is CRIMINAL that Canadian teen dream boyband The Moffats were left out of this.
I really liked that Sherman wrote this book less analytically and more as a reference text for timeline and quick tangents and from both a loving perspective of boy bands, which have been so maligned, singling out that the fans are what shaped it and pop culture (quoting Jessica Hopper "replace fangirl with expert and see what happens.")
While I think it wasn't necessary to do a fully fledged deep dive into every boyband (how could she!) and it didn't position itself as such, the book did still did feel like a rush to talk about One Direction, glossing over New Edition, NKOTB, BSB primarily to get there. I think there were some important deets left out, especially the early BSB phase of being edgier and how BSB differed from NSYNC (I maintain BSB were definitely down, and tried to utilized all singers, whereas NYSNC, lead my JT, and overlying on JC and JT, gave off the scent immature boys *and their choreography in their first videos was definitely sped up*). Also I'm pretty sure some of the facts are incorrect, specifically about BSB and quit playin games was on their first CD and when rereleased in the states was still on the first eponymous album, not Backstreet's Back.
That said, not being in the know of Jonas Brothers, One Direction or K Pop, Sherman paints a really fascinating arc of all of them and it was really interesting to read the history of of how boybands have changed and where she thinks they will go.
If you like boybands, you will like parts of this book and probably be frustrated by others, such is our lot in life as boyband fans who homer hard.
Also it is CRIMINAL that Canadian teen dream boyband The Moffats were left out of this.