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A review by laertes
My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend by Eleanor Wood
3.0
I wasn’t convinced by My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend to start with, but then it’s not exactly my usual fare so I didn’t know what to expect. Each chapter starts with one of Tuesday’s blog posts, which are fine as far as they go, but I found the chapters themselves a little inane. The dialogue seemed somehow stilted and not quite right, not much seemed to be going on, and I found myself starting to lose interest. I’m not a quitter, though, and I’d read a lot of positive reviews (that’s what encouraged me to pick this one up in the first place) so I persevered. I’m glad I did.
Okay, the opening isn’t the strongest. There’s a little too much backstory, maybe, a little too much “telling” instead of “showing”. It gets better, though. Once Tuesday’s relationship with Jackson starts to develop, the story really picks up pace and becomes difficult to put down. It’s not a straightforward, easy relationship either. Jackson emerges as a very troubled man – moody, nervous, ill at ease, but also changeable – he can go from self-destructive to euphoric, dismissive to attentive, in what seems like a heartbeat. Sometimes he treats Tuesday like she’s made of gold, and sometimes he’s (quite frankly) a bit of a shit.
I think it’s fair to say that Tuesday is a touch naïve. She lets Jackson get away with treating her badly, and doesn’t say a word about it. If anything, she’ll actually actively defend him. When things are good, she feels grateful and lucky. This portrayal troubles me, because it’s obviously abusive and yet it’s never identified as such. Tuesday just seems to go along with it, and it’s easy to follow her because she’s the narrator and a big, confident personality to boot. Unless you work it out for yourself, the ending is going to be a disappointment. You’ll be rooting for the wrong outcome.
Based on what I’ve just said, it’s clear that the ending does put things right. Tuesday makes some bad decisions throughout the course of this book, but she also makes some really, really good ones. If anything, the situation she finds herself in helps her to realise what’s important and to work out what matters most in her life; friends, family, and her dream of going to University and becoming a writer. Maybe she had to experience what she did to come to this realisation, and maybe she would always have wondered what might have been if she hadn’t taken a chance – there’s a point to teenage rebellion, after all. I do think Tuesday’s mother is far too permissive and forgiving – she seems like more of a friend or housemate than a mother, and it’s easy to think that if she’d been more of an authority figure, Tuesday wouldn’t have been able to get herself into some potentially dangerous situations. It’s terrible parenting, for sure, but if it were corrected there would be no story. And then where would we be?
This book isn’t without its flaws, and there are aspects of it that concern me. Having said that, it’s also a fun, fairly fluffy read that speaks to most teenagers’ thoughts and fantasies. It’s pure willing-suspension-of-disbelief inducing escapism, and a great end-of-summer read.
Visit my blog for more reviews: http://scheherazadereads.blogspot.co.uk/
Okay, the opening isn’t the strongest. There’s a little too much backstory, maybe, a little too much “telling” instead of “showing”. It gets better, though. Once Tuesday’s relationship with Jackson starts to develop, the story really picks up pace and becomes difficult to put down. It’s not a straightforward, easy relationship either. Jackson emerges as a very troubled man – moody, nervous, ill at ease, but also changeable – he can go from self-destructive to euphoric, dismissive to attentive, in what seems like a heartbeat. Sometimes he treats Tuesday like she’s made of gold, and sometimes he’s (quite frankly) a bit of a shit.
I think it’s fair to say that Tuesday is a touch naïve. She lets Jackson get away with treating her badly, and doesn’t say a word about it. If anything, she’ll actually actively defend him. When things are good, she feels grateful and lucky. This portrayal troubles me, because it’s obviously abusive and yet it’s never identified as such. Tuesday just seems to go along with it, and it’s easy to follow her because she’s the narrator and a big, confident personality to boot. Unless you work it out for yourself, the ending is going to be a disappointment. You’ll be rooting for the wrong outcome.
Based on what I’ve just said, it’s clear that the ending does put things right. Tuesday makes some bad decisions throughout the course of this book, but she also makes some really, really good ones. If anything, the situation she finds herself in helps her to realise what’s important and to work out what matters most in her life; friends, family, and her dream of going to University and becoming a writer. Maybe she had to experience what she did to come to this realisation, and maybe she would always have wondered what might have been if she hadn’t taken a chance – there’s a point to teenage rebellion, after all. I do think Tuesday’s mother is far too permissive and forgiving – she seems like more of a friend or housemate than a mother, and it’s easy to think that if she’d been more of an authority figure, Tuesday wouldn’t have been able to get herself into some potentially dangerous situations. It’s terrible parenting, for sure, but if it were corrected there would be no story. And then where would we be?
This book isn’t without its flaws, and there are aspects of it that concern me. Having said that, it’s also a fun, fairly fluffy read that speaks to most teenagers’ thoughts and fantasies. It’s pure willing-suspension-of-disbelief inducing escapism, and a great end-of-summer read.
Visit my blog for more reviews: http://scheherazadereads.blogspot.co.uk/