Mundie Moms

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky / Book Review

By: Goldy Moldavsky
Published by: Point/Scholastic
Released on: February 23, 2016
Series: The Wrath & The Dawn #2
Rating: 4 Stars - I liked it!
Purchase from: Scholastic | Amazon B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Source: Purchased.

Just know from the start that it wasn’t supposed to go like this. All we wanted was to get near them. That’s why we got a room in the hotel where they were staying.

We were not planning to kidnap one of them. Especially not the most useless one. But we had him—his room key, his cell phone, and his secrets.

We were not planning on what happened next.

We swear.

From thrilling new talent Goldy Moldavsky comes a pitch-black, hiarlious take on fandom and the badass girls who have the power to make—or break—the people we call “celebrities.”



Okay, both my thirteen-year-old daughter and I read this book in just a few sittings. WHY? Because we're huge boy band fangirls. Her boy band looks like this:
Image found here.
And mine, in their prime, looked like this. No, I am not staring at John Taylor's chin. Nope, not I. But, wasn't it just perfect?
Image found here.
Are there similarities? Oh, sure. There's the Cute One, the Smart One, the One Very Few Fangirls Care About, etc. Goldy writes all of those expected personalities into the story, but she twists it from a truly uber-fan point-of-view. One of the things I adored is that our protagonist changed her name constantly, so it left you wondering (until the very, very end) is she reliable? Crazy? Is this all for real? If you're thinking, "Hey, Sophie, wait a minute, this is a deeper book than just some fangirl tumblr post." You're absolutely on the right track. In fact, that's the opening page of the book warns you of just that. 

The Ruperts fangirls we're introduced to cover all the basic types -- the quiet fangirl, the slightly psycho one, the one determined to get more hits on her fan site and the one rich enough to finance all the shenanigans. The shenanigans lead to a series of truly unfortunate events, some of which will leave you laughing and remembering all your worst moments of boy band devotion. If only my best friend and I had financial resources to chase down Duran Duran!

The story has all the twists you'd expect (they meet the band, things happen), and then there are a couple of truly unexpected twists that turn this story from cute into something more. Something a bit deeper. It actually made me think of the life cycle of boy band fandoms. It lasts about five years at best, and then you grow out of it. You may grow away from your fandom friends. You may even dislike the band and pretend you never had that poster of John Taylor in your room (what just one?). I enjoyed the way Goldy wrapped up a kidnapping mystery plot with a bit of something unexpectedly deeper. 

But, don't worry, there are plenty of truly funny moments, and one sweet, wait-did-that-happen-or-did-it-not moment. The protagonist is the best because she grows so much in a very shallow moment in her life. I loved that. It reminded me of being young and frivolous and unattached to life's worries. It's fun to watch my daughter go through that same phase. Now, who knows where I can find Harry Styles these days?

If you're in the mood for a deeper-than-you'd-expect story told by a narrator who is discovering herself and learning who her true friends are, then pick up KILL THE BOY BAND. It hit all the right notes for me. 

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