Elissa R Sloan

What in the ever loving hell was that?? I was expecting something along the lines of Daisy Jones and the Six— and I got some really straightforward story about some absolutely miserable people. I get that depression is a thing that Cassidy was dealing with. But she had zero personality and zero times of feeling anything at all. I would get it better if she had ups and downs— she had nothingness the entire book. The other girls weren’t depressed, but they were just as unhappy— and they weren’t well developed either.

I just really did not like this book. I give it 2 stars because it isn’t boring— it has draggy moments, but for the most part it flows well and is readable.… (altro)

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes tries to tries to wear too many hats and therefore none of them come off written well. I didn't connect with any of the characters before there was a hurdle thrown at them. They felt more stand-ins who had struggled through a multitude of issues so the author could provide social commentary on said issues.
I appreciate what the book was doing when it displayed social commentary on mental health, domestic abuse, racism, homophobia, the #MeToo movement, and more, but the book tries so hard to fit in all of this commentary that it doesn't come off feeling natural. It feels more forced than anything else. The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes could have been great if it had stuck to a few themes instead of trying to fit in all of them.… (altro)

This dive into the harsh effects of being an early 2000’s pop star is a harrowing look at the toll that fame takes on the psyche and relationships of young girls. While there is a lot in this book, it did leave me looking for a bit more. But I truly fell in love with many of the characters, especially the girls in the band.
Cassidy didn’t know she wanted to be a famous singer. But after losing a television singing competition at seventeen, she knows that it is what she wants. She calls the record company that gave the record deal to the winner, and they eventually give her an audition to be the fourth member of a girl group. Gloss is a group of three girls: Merry, Yumi, and Rose, who have lost their fourth member to prolonged hospital stays. Together, the four girls become insanely famous. They get nicknames, hot boys, and mall tours. The band has setbacks, and eventually Cassidy leaves. Now it is fifteen years later, and Cassidy has committed suicide. Now the three remaining members of Gloss have to grapple with their past, present, and future as celebrities.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Cassidy is fascinating to follow. Her bandmates all have their own unique challenges and issues that they have to face. They have complicated friendships that are not just catty back and forths. All four girls deal with their fame differently, and it shows how the spotlight is different for everyone.
The premise of this book was fun. I always like getting behind the scenes of celebrity. However, I did not anticipate how sad it was going to be. The girls are supposed to be living their dream, but instead it is more of a nightmare. There is assault, forced eating disorders, crazed paparazzi, extreme loneliness, and more. These women are young and have no freedom. They were treated like products. It feels too real, as we see in the news today. Pop stars and famous women from the early 2000’s have come forward with all kinds of harrowing experiences they had.
My main issue with this book was that the text spent the same amount of pages in a week in 2017 and between the years of 1999 and 2001. I wanted more details about the time when the band was together. Because of this, there was a bit of telling about the events when the band was together when the women in 2017 remembered them. Merry especially had a lot of explaining memories. Also, everything from 2001 got resolved within the same week of Cassidy’s death. It may be because the other members of Gloss had avoided each other for many years, but it just seemed a bit forced in the end. But the actual content of the story made up for it. It was very intriguing to read.
I wanted more, which to me is a plus. I could not put this book down. I also did not want to say goodbye to Merry, Yumi, and Rose. I think that there are more stories to be told about them, but would anyone be interested without Cassidy?… (altro)