A review by lindy_b
Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky
3.0
A few days ago, I was browsing the Gay and Lesbian genre page on here and saw that Kill the Boy Band was one of the most read books this month. I looked at the cover and assumed, probably due to having watched Girltrash recently, that it must be about a lesbian punk band who beat out the resident douchebags in a local battle of the bands.
I clicked on the link and was disappointed to find out the book was about straight fangirls obsessed witha fictionalized One Direction a musical group called The Ruperts.
And then I remembered what that particular fanbase and their conspiracy theories are like, became very alarmed, and decided that I had to read this book. I do adore garbage.
I am almost certainly not the target audience, because I never have participated in fandom so much as I think they’re a great site for advanced peoplewatching. But here’s my take on Kill the Boy Band anyway.
Almost Head-esque in its deconstruction of the cultural figure of the boy band and what it stands for, a fitting title could be F*** You, Gloria Stavers. Kill the Boy Band also addresses insidiously abusive dynamics that tend to arise in fandoms where emotions run high. There is a lot going on here, but accessibly so. And I remembered how much I love satire and how I don't read enough of it!
One specific thing I appreciated is the author’s dry sense of humor. For example:
Now, for the complaints portion of the review, arranged from most to least significant:
1) If you’re going to kill the boy band, so to speak, you have to commit. And commitment does not look like makingHarry Styles Rupert K into a perfect feminist cinnamon roll, OK? It undermines one of the main themes and makes me question if this book is nothing more than half-baked self-insert fanfic.
2) This really did not belong in the Gay and Lesbian genre category on Goodreads. It’d be akin to me calling [b:Othello|12996|Othello|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1459795105s/12996.jpg|995103] Jewish literature, but maybe not quite as insidious. While the gay characters in Kill the Boy Band are terrible people, they’re no more terrible than almost everyone else in the book. On the other hand, so, like, this isn’t exactly positive representation here. Likewise, while the stuff surrounding Apple’s weight and self-esteem issues and Isabel’s Dominican heritage and tough attitude were intended to satirize stereotypes affecting fat girls and Caribbean women, it didn’t always come off that way.
3) The eleventh-hour plot point about the narratorwas unnecessary and annoying.
4) The foreshadowing is super heavy-handed. Ergo, the twists aren’t really twists.
5) WTF ever happened toLouis Tomlinson’s Rupert P’s phone?
6) Not really a complaint, but it amuses me that this book as the same ending as
In conclusion, despite flaws, I had a good time reading and it is still better than anything [a:John Green|1406384|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1353452301p2/1406384.jpg] ever wrote.
ETA: A couple of months later, out of nowhere it occurs to me that the author was (is?) a Fall Out Boy fan and suddenly most of the... dissonant... parts make so much sense.
I clicked on the link and was disappointed to find out the book was about straight fangirls obsessed with
And then I remembered what that particular fanbase and their conspiracy theories are like, became very alarmed, and decided that I had to read this book. I do adore garbage.
I am almost certainly not the target audience, because I never have participated in fandom so much as I think they’re a great site for advanced peoplewatching. But here’s my take on Kill the Boy Band anyway.
Almost Head-esque in its deconstruction of the cultural figure of the boy band and what it stands for, a fitting title could be F*** You, Gloria Stavers. Kill the Boy Band also addresses insidiously abusive dynamics that tend to arise in fandoms where emotions run high. There is a lot going on here, but accessibly so. And I remembered how much I love satire and how I don't read enough of it!
One specific thing I appreciated is the author’s dry sense of humor. For example:
My feelings on the matter could best be summed up with lyrics from The Ruperts’ hit ‘I’m So Excited.’Yeah Yeah Yeah!
I’m so excited!
Yeah Yeah Yeah!
Tonight is the night! (loc. 328)
Now, for the complaints portion of the review, arranged from most to least significant:
1) If you’re going to kill the boy band, so to speak, you have to commit. And commitment does not look like making
2) This really did not belong in the Gay and Lesbian genre category on Goodreads. It’d be akin to me calling [b:Othello|12996|Othello|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1459795105s/12996.jpg|995103] Jewish literature, but maybe not quite as insidious. While the gay characters in Kill the Boy Band are terrible people, they’re no more terrible than almost everyone else in the book. On the other hand,
Spoiler
a character’s homosexuality did lead to his death,3) The eleventh-hour plot point about the narrator
Spoiler
potentially having an unreliable memory4) The foreshadowing is super heavy-handed. Ergo, the twists aren’t really twists.
5) WTF ever happened to
Spoiler
6) Not really a complaint, but it amuses me that this book as the same ending as
Spoiler
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.In conclusion, despite flaws, I had a good time reading and it is still better than anything [a:John Green|1406384|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1353452301p2/1406384.jpg] ever wrote.
ETA: A couple of months later, out of nowhere it occurs to me that the author was (is?) a Fall Out Boy fan and suddenly most of the... dissonant... parts make so much sense.