Scan barcode
brep23's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I ended up liking this more than I expected! The title does not do this book any favors— it gives the expectation that this is going to be a history of women in fandom on the Internet, when really it's a retrospective of a very specific place and time (the One Direction fandom in the early to mid 2010s) and how it affected our current mediascape, with some historical context and memoir-type anecdotes thrown in. Once you get on-board with the scope this book is actually trying to tackle, there are some fascinating anecdotes and revelations here, though as someone who was in fandom during this time period, I did have to shake my head a few times at how the author seemed to only have a basic understanding of the Internet culture she was supposed to be analyzing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Stalking, and Abortion
Minor: Self harm, Vomit, and Pregnancy
angleslist's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Abortion, and Pandemic/Epidemic
yilliun's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.75
I think the overall concept was really interesting and I liked the choice to focus on one of the most iconic fandoms of the past two decades.
She does an exceptional job with weaving in the pre-Internet history of fandoms into the present day. I felt so connected to the story as someone who grew up with One Direction being my favorite band.
My main critique is that I feel she spent too much time detailing the ins and outs of Larry shippers vs the Antis. I found myself mostly skimming over the ending.
She does an exceptional job with weaving in the pre-Internet history of fandoms into the present day. I felt so connected to the story as someone who grew up with One Direction being my favorite band.
My main critique is that I feel she spent too much time detailing the ins and outs of Larry shippers vs the Antis. I found myself mostly skimming over the ending.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Racism
caitlinemccann's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Misogyny
cadence99's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
This was a good read; a reflection on the culture of online fandoms and the way that they are viewed by the larger world as a whole. The beginning half seemed a bit repetitive at first, but the second half really picked up for me, delving deeper into Fandoms impact on the world beyond their own online borders
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
mads_jpg's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Very interesting book analysing fandom and the internet, but I think I would've enjoyed it more if it wasn't so much about One Direction. They're definitely a good case study for the subject, and the author being a fan of them adds more depth to her analysis, but there are so many other fandoms that would've been just as interesting to explore. Fandoms like Swifties and the BTS Army were only briefly analysed/mentioned when they could've opened up other conversations for the book to have. All of this is to say that I think you have to be a 1D fan to get the most out of this book, but it's definitely still a great read even if you're only familiar with them.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, and Sexism
More...