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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I was so looking forward to this book and I'm SO happy to report that it didn't disappoint. I loved the concept, loved the characters and their friendships, loved the romance, loved the discussions about fraught familial relationships and mental health and bisexuality (!!) that didn't feel like lectures or Ted Talks. (Bonus points for the problems in Ruben and Zach's relationship coming out of...well, genuine problems that they both have, thanks to their respective anxieties, and that they need to work on, instead of romcom BS miscommunications!) And yeah, that moment near the end about the power of positive fandom made me a little verklempt. I wasn't a fan of Cale Dietrich's last work and I don't think I've read Sophie Gonzales before, but they both nailed it in this one. Such a fun and addictive read!
This got darker than I expected at some points, but at the end it is still a generally upbeat YA. I love boy bands and girl groups, but this did make me reflect on how they and even solo artists are treated in the industry. It's not like it's something I can change, but it's good to be more reflective on their autonomy and how they're not exactly who we see. A huge theme here is the mental toll the public eye takes and how artists are almost treated as property, especially being marginalized and made to fit to what's "sellable."
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Gay cheesy romance with real emotions too?? Unheard of lowkey. This reads like a really good fanfic obviously
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol
I enjoyed the characters in this book. They are very relatable, we all have someone who is like each one of them. The depiction of the different relationships was very well written, as was the descriptions of the different mental health and family issues without naming them.
The story focused around a boy band and the way their lives were run for them. The way they stood up for themselves at the end of the book was powerful. There were tears and smiles while reading. And an HEA!
The story focused around a boy band and the way their lives were run for them. The way they stood up for themselves at the end of the book was powerful. There were tears and smiles while reading. And an HEA!
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC. It hasn't affected the content of my review.
Well I just blew through this book! It was compulsively listenable, even with an audio narrator who probably wasn't the best man for the job (he had a very definite middle-aged man quality about him). I requested this on Netgalley (and added it to my TBR months back) because the premise of a secret romance within a boy band appealed to me greatly. Like many teenaged girls, I went through my boy band phase, although today's boy band stans put me to shame, despite that I did see the Backstreet Boys on tour during the height of their fame and screamed my little heart out, so . (If I stanned anything as a teenager it was The X-Files.)
Nowadays, I have lots of conflicting thoughts about the phenomenon of boy bands, particularly packaged ones like the boys in Saturday (the band in the book), but I find the subject of them incredibly interesting to talk and think about. There's so much intersection between art, capitalism and commodification, exploitation, gender norms, mental health, drug abuse, toxic fandom, and the nature of the studio system. What specifically appealed to me about the premise of this book is that it seemed to have all of those things in mind, and the book very much delivered on all of it. On top of that, the characters were great, the romance believable, and we got our HEA, with some nuanced discussion of what it's like to come out and to deal with unhealthy family dynamics (among other themes), with a dollop of angst as a cherry on top.
Basically, this book was a success. If the premise appeals to you, you probably won't be disappointed. It was exactly what I needed as a palate cleanser between lots of incredibly serious reads that I uncharacteristically find myself reading right now.
Well I just blew through this book! It was compulsively listenable, even with an audio narrator who probably wasn't the best man for the job (he had a very definite middle-aged man quality about him). I requested this on Netgalley (and added it to my TBR months back) because the premise of a secret romance within a boy band appealed to me greatly. Like many teenaged girls, I went through my boy band phase, although today's boy band stans put me to shame, despite that I did see the Backstreet Boys on tour during the height of their fame and screamed my little heart out, so . (If I stanned anything as a teenager it was The X-Files.)
Nowadays, I have lots of conflicting thoughts about the phenomenon of boy bands, particularly packaged ones like the boys in Saturday (the band in the book), but I find the subject of them incredibly interesting to talk and think about. There's so much intersection between art, capitalism and commodification, exploitation, gender norms, mental health, drug abuse, toxic fandom, and the nature of the studio system. What specifically appealed to me about the premise of this book is that it seemed to have all of those things in mind, and the book very much delivered on all of it. On top of that, the characters were great, the romance believable, and we got our HEA, with some nuanced discussion of what it's like to come out and to deal with unhealthy family dynamics (among other themes), with a dollop of angst as a cherry on top.
Basically, this book was a success. If the premise appeals to you, you probably won't be disappointed. It was exactly what I needed as a palate cleanser between lots of incredibly serious reads that I uncharacteristically find myself reading right now.
Das Buch hat mich gleich von Beginn an in seinen Bann gezogen! Es ist sprachlich einfach geschrieben wie viele Jugendromane und war schnell durchgelesen. Mir hat besonders gefallen, dass darin gegendert wurde!
Jedoch fiel es mir sehr schwer, die einzelnen Perspektiven der beiden Protagonisten auseinander zu halten, da in jedem Kapitel die pov gewechselt wurde. Das hat mich häufig verwirrt und ich musste ganze Abschnitte erneut lesen, da ich sie mir aus der Sicht der falschen Person vorgestellt habe... Die Charaktere hätten ebenfalls stärker porträtiert werden können, manchmal haben sie schwach auf mich gewirkt ohne große Substanz.
Auch war ich überrascht, dass sexuelle Szenen zwar häufig angedeutet wurden, jedoch dann immer geskipped wurden, als wollte man die Leser*innen nur mit Andeutungen ködern.
Insgesamt stellt das Werk aber eine wertvolle Repräsentation queerer Lebensrealitäten dar, weshalb ich es nur empfehlen kann. Hinzufügen möchte ich noch, dass die Storyline sehr authentisch auf mich wirkt und ich das Lesen trotz genannter Kritik sehr genossen habe!!
Jedoch fiel es mir sehr schwer, die einzelnen Perspektiven der beiden Protagonisten auseinander zu halten, da in jedem Kapitel die pov gewechselt wurde. Das hat mich häufig verwirrt und ich musste ganze Abschnitte erneut lesen, da ich sie mir aus der Sicht der falschen Person vorgestellt habe... Die Charaktere hätten ebenfalls stärker porträtiert werden können, manchmal haben sie schwach auf mich gewirkt ohne große Substanz.
Auch war ich überrascht, dass sexuelle Szenen zwar häufig angedeutet wurden, jedoch dann immer geskipped wurden, als wollte man die Leser*innen nur mit Andeutungen ködern.
Insgesamt stellt das Werk aber eine wertvolle Repräsentation queerer Lebensrealitäten dar, weshalb ich es nur empfehlen kann. Hinzufügen möchte ich noch, dass die Storyline sehr authentisch auf mich wirkt und ich das Lesen trotz genannter Kritik sehr genossen habe!!
4.25 stars
If anyone would have told me that I would have enjoyed a YA novel based around a boy band then I would have been extremely skeptical. However, you tell me there are some heavy topics and it involves a queer romance then I immediately need to read it lol. All the characters in the boy band were great and I actually related to quite a bit. This story is more than just a romance as it deals with emotional and mental abuse from family members and work, anxiety, drug abuse, comfort with how a person dresses and dances, and gaslighting. If any of these topics are too bothersome for you then maybe save this book for a different time. For me, it was a great escape from a hard time I’d been going through as we got to travel throughout Europe and a little in the United States.
If anyone would have told me that I would have enjoyed a YA novel based around a boy band then I would have been extremely skeptical. However, you tell me there are some heavy topics and it involves a queer romance then I immediately need to read it lol. All the characters in the boy band were great and I actually related to quite a bit. This story is more than just a romance as it deals with emotional and mental abuse from family members and work, anxiety, drug abuse, comfort with how a person dresses and dances, and gaslighting. If any of these topics are too bothersome for you then maybe save this book for a different time. For me, it was a great escape from a hard time I’d been going through as we got to travel throughout Europe and a little in the United States.
A whole lot of love for this book. The story, the characters, everything. Will write a full review closer to release!