The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
cheye13's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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:teki_p's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Homophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia and Toxic friendship
danileah07's review against another edition
1.0
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
whilhelminaharker's review against another edition
3.0
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Third: I wish this had a more ambigous ending. I think this should end with them walking out of the hotel with the world burning around them, and then we can get that cheeky little "was any of this true" question mark. The way it stands, the epilogue wraps everything up way too nicely. I want to be left questioning whether the meeting with Rupert K(which I'm sure is purposefully meant to sound like a self-insert fanfiction) was real or not - instead, it just has to give us that Cinderella pastiche, which just feels like a cop-out.
And finally - I wish it would pick a lane. This is such a fantastic premise, and there's so much here that's ripe with potiental. I can honestly say this book is the only one I've read that comes closest to capturing what pop music fandom in the age of social media is like, and it's deliciously nasty. All of the members having the same name, as if they were printed out in a factory. Rupert P. being the Louis/Kevin of the group(apologies to Louis Tomlinson and Kevin Jonas). The shallow model girlfriend with a name as wonderfully satirical as Michelle Hornsbury(the twist at the end that she's the killer is brilliant. Hailey Bieber is probably taking notes as we speak). The Thanksgiving special, the mayhem when Rupert P. "quits", the "secret gay romance" theories and professional beards. It all speaks to someone who's been in the trenches and knows what they're talking about.
But with so much overflowing materiel, this ends up going in a million directions and feels scattered as a result. Whodunnit murder mystery? Rape revenge thriller? Weekend At Bernie's style comedy? Pretty Little Liars-esque digital paranoia? It all gets wrapped into a bursting-at-the-seams package that is certainly a lot of fun - but good satire is more than just fun. It's fast, clean, and cuts like a knife. It leaves you with something substantial. This needed some more time in the editing room, some more fleshing out of its ideas, and a lot less telling/more showing. Ultimately, the point is that a mysoginistic society deems teenage girls and the things they like "shallow" - but in reality they contain multitudes. Our protagonist certainly goes on a lot of rants about this fact. But you're preaching to the choir here - after all, teenage girls are the target audience of this book. If the story was sharper, darker, and more cutting, a deeper point could have been made than just "fandoms bad...but also good?". It may have been able to actually freak out its audience by holding up a mirror, and daring them to like what they see. The idea here is that this is what happens when stan culture and a dehumanzing entertainment industry are taken to their natural endpoint - but honestly? The "real" natural endpoint may be even more fucked up than this book cares to be.Â
Also why the fuck did the only Chinese character have to be a homeless orphan and why the fuck is she named after food and why the fuck is she the subject of a million fat jokes and why the fuck is the Latina character the "spicy" one and why the fuck--
Graphic: Fatphobia
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Sexual harassment
impeachnixon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Kidnapping
Minor: Fatphobia
trulydevious's review against another edition
- 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
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 against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Mental illness, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual assault
tachyondecay's review against another edition
Originally posted at Kara.Reviews.
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual assault and Fatphobia
opalchainsaw's review against another edition
2.0
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
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
magicalghoul's review against another edition
- 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
Now, about the book: Enjoyed the concept and the writing style but the rampant fatphobia and the smidge of racism really ruined it for meâ 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.
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.