Goldy Moldavsky

Four superfan friends devotion to their favorite boy band has darkly comical and murderous results! Okay, so just know from the start that it wasn't supposed to go like this. All we wanted was to get near The Ruperts, our favorite boy band. We didn't mean to kidnap one of the guys. It kind of, sort of happened that way. But now he's tied up in our hotel room. And the worst part of all, it's Rupert P. All four members of The Ruperts might have the same first name but they couldn't be more different. And Rupert P. is the biggest flop out of the whole group. We didn't mean to hold hostage a member of The Ruperts, I swear. At least, I didn't. We are fans. Okay, superfans who spend all of our free time tweeting about the boys and updating our fan tumblrs. But so what, that's what you do when you love a group so much it hurt s. How did it get this far? Who knows. I mean midterms are coming up. I really do not have time to go to hell.

Kill the Boy Band

Lindy B

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 with a 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:
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 Harry 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 Othello 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,(view spoiler)[ a character’s homosexuality did lead to his death, (hide spoiler)] 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 narrator (view spoiler)[potentially having an unreliable memory  (hide spoiler)]was unnecessary and annoying. 

4) The foreshadowing is super heavy-handed. Ergo, the twists aren’t really twists. 

5) WTF ever happened to(view spoiler)[ Louis Tomlinson’s Rupert P’s phone? (hide spoiler)]

6) Not really a complaint, but it amuses me that this book as the same ending as(view spoiler)[ A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.  (hide spoiler)]

In conclusion, despite flaws, I had a good time reading and it is still better than anything John Green 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.

Taous Merakchi

Une vision intéressante et rafraîchissante de l’adolescence et du phénomène des fangirls, écrit par une femme qui sait vraisemblablement de quoi elle parle. Quelques points de dialogues un peu trop poussifs et peu réalistes dans les moments de tension (même à 15 ans je doute qu’on hurle « I have lost the ability to can! » dans une vraie engueulade) mais au moins l’argot et le vocabulaire Tumblr sont utilisés comme il faut pour une fois et pas juste saupoudrés ça et là par un adulte qui essaye de se mettre dans la peau d’une adolescente. Si vous aimez les histoires d’ados un peu d4rk mais aussi drôles et pas mal foutues, ça se mange sans faim en 2-3 soirées.

There was no point being a fan these days if you weren’t willing to go the extra mile for your idols. It wasn’t enough anymore to send them fan mail and kiss the posters above our beds. These days you weren’t a true fan until you engaged in Twitter death threats and endless stan wars. (...) No, you aren’t a true fan until you’ve wept for your love. Bled for them. Threatened lives for them.


a+, solid 4.5

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, hilarious take on fandom and the badass girls who have the power to make-or break-the people we call "celebrities."

Maga P

First off: Mind the discussion of slut-shaming tw. I'm not putting it in spoiler tags because it's somehow central to the plot and could be highly upsetting. Please take care.

Now, about the book: Enjoyed the concept and the writing style but the rampant fatphobia and the smidge of racism really ruined it for me— just because it's satire or dark humor doesn't mean you get a free pass to punch down.

The outdated (even for 2016) teen slang sometimes took me out as well, but on a second thought I'm glad it went for a known evil (tumblr fandom slang) over a recent one (stolen aave in stan circles).

It was entertaining at least, even if I found myself wishing it had pushed for more at times. Solid three star book.

Alexa M

As a (not so) former One Direction fangirl this book was just ridiculously unrealistic and reminded me of shitty fanfic I’d have never picked up lmao. Along with the fat shaming and making the “villain” one of only two queer characters? Idk. This book made me cringe at least once per page. Not to mention defending “fangirls” while also posing the question of whether or not it’s “okay” to be obsessed with a boy band?? I can’t y’all, what! I did manage to enjoy the 1D phase nostalgia that came along during some parts. Almost DNF’d halfway - glad I didn’t - but ya not a fan of this one.

Ella

this book was fucking insane and i loved every minute of it

Sophia Minetos

Don't judge a book by its cover. Or its title.

Anyway, I first came across this book a couple weeks ago when I was shopping with a friend at Barnes and Noble. I picked it up and flipped through it, quoting passages aloud. We laughed at them, joking about how we were both tempted to actually give it a shot.

Well, I did. I bought it and read it in one-sitting, because I just couldn't put it down.

Honestly, this is one of the most well thought out contemporary YA books I've read in a while. Parts of it feel like a farce (there's a lot of dead slang and thinly veiled pop culture references, however, many of them are hilarious), but it also has a lot of interesting passages about fandoms and the bulk of fangirl culture that you don't really see too often. 

The book is fast-paced, the kind with an incredibly addictive quality. It's just as suspenseful as any adult mystery novel, filled with tension and twists. You'll be asking yourself "Whodunnit?" over and over again, changing your mind every time you turn the page. 

(view spoiler)[ I wasn't a huge fan of the romance plot, but although it was shallow, it was sweet. And I won't lie, who wouldn't want to read about someone fulfilling her fangirl fantasies? I would love to be in her shoes. I'm sad that we never learn the protagonist's name, though I do hope that Rupert Kirke finds his Sloane Peterson eventually!  (hide spoiler)]

Rupert K. is definitely my favorite of the bunch, though the book mentions that he's everyone's favorite, so I guess that's a no-brainer. I loved Rupert L. and his line of watches, which had me giggling every time it was mentioned. Rupert K. and Rupert X. are both jerks. But I won't say anything else about that. 

Kill the Boy Band is a light, quick read, but it's the best light, quick read that I've read this year. Definitely the kind of book I'd reccomend for a flight or a roadtrip, anything you need to keep yourself busy and fully-absorbed. I went into this book expecting laughs, but I received much more than that.

Jen Estrella

At this point you may be asking just how much harm a fifteen-year-old fangirl could really do. That is the wrong question to ask. People can do a lot of harm if pushed to the breaking point, and us fangirls lived at the breaking point.


Remember that time when you and your girl friends hovered over the latest photos and videos of your favorite band? Those instances when you silently squealed among yourselves as you watched the latest BTS shoots, making a dying face as your favorite person comes to focus. Your locker shows your utter devotion to this group and you would probably spend your nights scavenging websites for a summary of their most recent interview. 

Well, this book talks about that and more. It centers on a group of teenage girls whose lives are made complicated by their earnestness to meet their favorite group - the Ruperts, a band composed of members who were luckily (or unluckily as you may realize later on) born with the same name. 

Yes, the humor tag does not disappoint. I have never laughed so much as I had when I read Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and the level of humor of Where'd You Go, Bernadette does not even compare. This is dark comedy at its finest. I know I should probably not laugh when a guy gets kidnapped and further disastrous events ensue, but I couldn't help it. It's just plain fun in most of its parts. You don't even have to worry about not finding it funny because the dialogue is nothing but superficial and hilarious. Take this conversation for example:


  A reporter interviewed her in front of her tent, asking, "Why are you so devoted to this band?" 
"Because," she'd said, "I'm a Strepur for life!"
"Excuse me?" the clueless newsperson said.
"Strepur. It's what Ruperts fans called themselves. It's 'Ruperts' spelled backward."

The newsperson stared, blinked, smiled, and concluded the interview by asking a passerby how he felt about the growing population of Strepurs. 
"I'm all for strippers," the main said. 
The clip was a mini viral sensation.
 

Now, a lot of people would probably wonder whether this one is only worth picking for a good laugh or two, and I'm pleased to say that it isn't. On the contrary, once you get to the "unfortunate circumstance" you'd sense the intermittent changes in mood that leaves quite an unsettling feeling. This book, aside from being undoubtedly feminist, is also weirdly psychological. 


  There was no point being a fan these days if you weren't willing to go the extra mile for your idols. It wasn't enough anymore to send them fan mail and kiss the posters above our beds. These days you weren't a true fan until you engaged in Twitter death threats and endless stan wars [...] Because the truth is, it isn't worth loving something if you aren't going to love it all the way.
 

(Really? Now that I think about it, my life as a fangirl must have been pretty tame compared to these girls, but I do shamelessly admit that I was able to relate to most of their tendencies.)

The mood continues to become heavier and darker especially when the main character (I forgot her name if it was even mentioned) contemplated on the reality of the events that run through her head. It made me think about my life as a fangirl, how I loved reading fanfiction and even considered writing one, how I imagined exchanges between me and my favorite person, and boy, was I as proud and as outspoken back then?

I didn't give this book a higher rating on account of personal preference. I'm just not much of a 'humor' person, but I really wanted to give the genre a try, and in all honesty, I did enjoy this book a lot, although there are some things that weren't as satisfying. 

The characters were diverse, that's one thing that I appreciated very much, but I just didn't find myself interested in the main character's POV. Nevertheless, out of the bunch, she was the only one who had developed in one way or another. The ending was fitting. It had this fanfiction feel to it, but this isn't a bad thing. I'm just not sure whether it was the author's way of making the events look like they were written by this character who writes a lot of fanfiction about her favorite band, but well, it works. 

Well, all in all, that was a fun read. The mystery was not the novel's strong suit, so don't focus on that if you do decide to read it. The story wasn't made to indulge anyone in the process of finding out who committed what. It focuses more on the girls - their identities, their lives as teenagers, and how they would resolve the crisis at hand. 

Go ahead and read this book if you want a good laugh, in addition to some reflections on the complexities of being in a fandom of any kind. If you have not gone through this "phase" as most people call it, then you're probably in for a surprise.

Jelke Lenaerts

4th Biannual Bibliothon read (challenge: throwback challenge: book from your favourite genre: contemporary)
3rd Booktubeathon read (challenge: finish a book in one day)

This wasn't entirely what I expected but I still really enjoyed it. It's something different but in a good way.

full review: https://jelkelenaerts.blogspot.be/201...

Victoria Grace

Danica Holdaway

Wow I am SO CLOSE to giving this 5 stars. SO GOOD. Unique. Edgy. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. You laugh and stress and wonder. You can't believe how ridiculous the fangirls are, but at the same time she makes you love and understand them. Same with the boy band! Just incredible book. Definitely recommend.

Lovisa

Jag läste denna bara för ett en av mina favorit booktuber sa att den va så himla rolig. En bit in i den så trodde jag inte alls på den, men den va helt okej faktiskt

Zoë

WOW DID I LOVE THIS. This was the fiction retelling of the summer of 2013 turned dark. God this was my teenhood and just all of it brought back how it was and was honest about it and all the hate. I just really really loved this.

Kill the Boy Band

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