cheye13's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was a perfect book. For me. I cannot and do not widely recommend this. This is a very specific book for a very specific type of person.
First of all: the band in the book is not One Direction - but it's One Direction. This book is for people who were (are) intense One Direction fans during their hype, but on the older end (like fans 18 & up, rather than 13-16yos they were initially marketed to); fans who were just as crazy, but had a smidgen of self-awareness about it. Fans who read/wrote RPF but didn't genuinely believe any of the band was secretly dating each other. Fans who now look back on One Direction and think "they were (are) just regular dudes." A heavy and specifically boyband fanaticism with a sprinkling of realism. Probably also helpful if the reader's a queer woman (and managed to avoid that whole "i'm gonna marry [boybander]" phenomenon).
This book isn't written like a marketable, mainstream novel. It's written like a - very good - boyband fanfiction. I'm obsessed with it. This may be my favorite book of the year.
EDITED TO ADD: you know that Bob's Burgers episode where Louise wants to slap BooBoo? Take that, age it up, satirize it a little further, and pad out the plot to fill a novel. i.e. if you Understood™ Louise in that episode, you'll get this book.
First of all: the band in the book is not One Direction - but it's One Direction. This book is for people who were (are) intense One Direction fans during their hype, but on the older end (like fans 18 & up, rather than 13-16yos they were initially marketed to); fans who were just as crazy, but had a smidgen of self-awareness about it. Fans who read/wrote RPF but didn't genuinely believe any of the band was secretly dating each other. Fans who now look back on One Direction and think "they were (are) just regular dudes." A heavy and specifically boyband fanaticism with a sprinkling of realism. Probably also helpful if the reader's a queer woman (and managed to avoid that whole "i'm gonna marry [boybander]" phenomenon).
This book isn't written like a marketable, mainstream novel. It's written like a - very good - boyband fanfiction. I'm obsessed with it. This may be my favorite book of the year.
EDITED TO ADD: you know that Bob's Burgers episode where Louise wants to slap BooBoo? Take that, age it up, satirize it a little further, and pad out the plot to fill a novel. i.e. if you Understood™ Louise in that episode, you'll get this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Stalking, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Murder
Moderate: Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
Minor: Fatphobia, Grief, Racism, Homophobia, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Body shaming, and Bullying
difficult to discern when the fatphobia was intentional (i.e. from character pov) or incidental from the author's pov. readers are likely prepared for the manner of sexual assault the girls perpetrate on the boy band (limited to groping and lewd comments), but likely unprepared for the manner of sexual assault committed by one of the boys on a female fan:Spoiler
in a past even desccribed by a character, one of the boy band sends a girl's nonconsensual nude pictures to the other members and summons them to see her naked. still only very briefly described, but a longer scene than the other incidents.singalana's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
What can I say about this book, except that I loved it!
I found it through BookTube, and I didn't know what to expect. I listened to it as an audiobook, and the reader (Barrett Wilbert Weed) was brilliant: she sounded perfect for the role, all the while managing to give each of the characters different voices that actually sounded good! The characters were all interesting and executed well, and the pacing worked. The twists took me by surprise, I had no idea what was going to happen in the end.
This book deals with fandoms and fan culture, and I think it handles the topic quite well and gives something to think about. There was something outrageously unhinged by this book: it reminded me of My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell and Sweetpea by C. J. Skuse.
I found it through BookTube, and I didn't know what to expect. I listened to it as an audiobook, and the reader (Barrett Wilbert Weed) was brilliant: she sounded perfect for the role, all the while managing to give each of the characters different voices that actually sounded good! The characters were all interesting and executed well, and the pacing worked. The twists took me by surprise, I had no idea what was going to happen in the end.
This book deals with fandoms and fan culture, and I think it handles the topic quite well and gives something to think about. There was something outrageously unhinged by this book: it reminded me of My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell and Sweetpea by C. J. Skuse.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Kidnapping
Minor: Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Mental illness, Murder, Death of parent, Bullying, and Sexual content
teki_p's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Homophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia and Toxic friendship
danileah07's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Fatphobia, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
hannahrae's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, and Sexual harassment
trulydevious's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Outing, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Suicide
subjecta5's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Mental illness, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual assault
opalchainsaw's review against another edition
2.0
at first i thought maybe i would have liked this more if i read it a few years ago when i was a one direction stan....... but nah
i know there are some interesting/weird stories about stans irl but this all just seemed so over the top and not in a good way
there was so much fat shaming like lmao. apple knocks rp unconscious because of her weight, brings a giant suitcase filled with only popcorn (??? what the hell honestly), etc, her weight is basically a joke throughout the whole thing. i feel like half of this book was just them describing how ugly rp was. we get it: teenage fangirls are crazy stalkers who only care about looks!!! duh!!!!!
not only did the girls kidnap rp, the way apple treated him was kind of horrible - licking his face, sitting on his lap and taking pics - like sure even tho he was a shitty person, this was just unnecessary and weird. and don't you just love how the only (secretly) gay member of the band is the one who gets murdered? i'm so tired. there was also tons of homophobia just regarding the fact that he was gay/in the closet. and i'm just disappointed because the writing made it seem like erin/isobel/"sloan" could be sapphic but nothing ever came of any of it? like almost every time sloan was describing erin she used the word beautiful but instead of having them fall in love they were fighting?? goodbye
i know there are some interesting/weird stories about stans irl but this all just seemed so over the top and not in a good way
there was so much fat shaming like lmao. apple knocks rp unconscious because of her weight, brings a giant suitcase filled with only popcorn (??? what the hell honestly), etc, her weight is basically a joke throughout the whole thing. i feel like half of this book was just them describing how ugly rp was. we get it: teenage fangirls are crazy stalkers who only care about looks!!! duh!!!!!
not only did the girls kidnap rp, the way apple treated him was kind of horrible - licking his face, sitting on his lap and taking pics - like sure even tho he was a shitty person, this was just unnecessary and weird. and don't you just love how the only (secretly) gay member of the band is the one who gets murdered? i'm so tired. there was also tons of homophobia just regarding the fact that he was gay/in the closet. and i'm just disappointed because the writing made it seem like erin/isobel/"sloan" could be sapphic but nothing ever came of any of it? like almost every time sloan was describing erin she used the word beautiful but instead of having them fall in love they were fighting?? goodbye
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
geno's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love it. It's fun, dark, real and everything in between.
It makes fun of the fangirls and the boybands in such a caring.
Four friends find themselves kidnapping a member from their favorite boyband. The whole story happens in a few hours and everything went from bad to worse. But is such a fun trip (specially if you are a fangirl): fake girlfriends, murder, social media used as a tool, reference to old movies, friendship put to the test. It sounds impossible but it all works out.
It's a weird trip, but a really nice one.
It makes fun of the fangirls and the boybands in such a caring.
Four friends find themselves kidnapping a member from their favorite boyband. The whole story happens in a few hours and everything went from bad to worse. But is such a fun trip (specially if you are a fangirl): fake girlfriends, murder, social media used as a tool, reference to old movies, friendship put to the test. It sounds impossible but it all works out.
It's a weird trip, but a really nice one.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Homophobia
magicalghoul's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
First off: Mind the discussion of slut-shaming tw. I'm not putting it in spoiler tags because it's somehow central to the plot and could be highly upsetting. Please take care.
Now, about the book: Enjoyed the concept and the writing style but the rampant fatphobia and the smidge of racism really ruined it for me— just because it's satire or dark humor doesn't mean you get a free pass to punch down.
The outdated (even for 2016) teen slang sometimes took me out as well, but on a second thought I'm glad it went for a known evil (tumblr fandom slang) over a recent one (stolen aave in stan circles).
It was entertaining at least, even if I found myself wishing it had pushed for more at times. Solid three star book.
Now, about the book: Enjoyed the concept and the writing style but the rampant fatphobia and the smidge of racism really ruined it for me— just because it's satire or dark humor doesn't mean you get a free pass to punch down.
The outdated (even for 2016) teen slang sometimes took me out as well, but on a second thought I'm glad it went for a known evil (tumblr fandom slang) over a recent one (stolen aave in stan circles).
It was entertaining at least, even if I found myself wishing it had pushed for more at times. Solid three star book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Racism, and Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
A character tells another about a situation where she was humiliated and slut shamed.