BOOK REVIEW: BOYBAND
INFORMATION: Author: Jacqueline E. Smith Series: Boy Band series, first book Published: 2015 Pages: 196 Goodreads rating: 3.77
SYNOPSIS: Sam Morneau is Melissa Parker’s best friend. He’s also a member of The Kind of September, basically the hottest boy band on the planet. After two and a half years, Mel is all too familiar with the day-to-day occurrences that come with being a member of the band’s inner circle, including hectic schedules, passionate fans, and gossip-mongering celebrity girlfriends. Now, with the release of the group’s third album just weeks away, their lives have never been crazier and Mel is doing everything she can to keep up, all the while trying to cope with the ridiculous rumors that follow the band everywhere they go and pretending that she isn’t harboring a secret and hopeless crush on Sam. It’s weird enough being in love with your best friend. It’s even weirder when the rest of the world is in love with him, too.
REVIEW: I’m a big fan of fan-fiction. Oh, I remember how I used to squeak while reading “After”, the very famous wattpad story about One Direction guys in an alternative universe, that actually became a New York Times Bestseller! So imagine me, a full-time boy band fangirl, finding a novel that is called “Boy Band”. I made sure to immediately contact the author, Jacqueline, and I had the first two books “Boy Band” and “Backstage” delivered to me in no time. So let’s talk about the first one. THE COVER. How can you not love it? It’s so simple yet so charming. I love the colors, I love the font, the back of the book, the spine. Overall, the look of this book for me is 10/10.
When you read this novel, you enter the world, which is identical to ours except one little detail. Teenage girls are not hanging posters of Harry Styles on their bedroom’s walls. It’s Josh Cahill, Cory Foreman, Oliver Berkley, Jesse Scott and Sam Morneau - The Kind of September took over everyone’s (including mine) hearts with their voices (and looks) and became the biggest boy band in the world. When they are touring, Cory’s sister Joni and Sam’s best friend Melissa Parker are coming along with them. Well, they are kind of working for them. The main character in this book is Melissa, who is not only traveling around the globe with her superstar best friend but also is in love with him. That should be fun, right? And, oh, this book is so much fun! Witty jokes, sassy comments, stupid and realistic decisions made by the characters makes you want to never finish it. At least there are more parts because I would go crazy. I think the author really did well on describing the worldwide star’s life. The Kind of September members are always surrounded by nasty rumors, fake people, and paparazzi. But the guys, Joni and Melissa are not perfect, too. They make mistakes, they ruin things, they argue, they cry. It felt like I was reading a real story. Also, I’m a sucker for romance in books, and that’s one of the things this story is full of. I mean, it’s probably the main idea - how can the boy band members find their true love, when it seems like every single person on the planet is in love with them?
"Boy Band" is an easy read. It’s the perfect book when you just want to chill after a long day with a cup of tea and you need some positive vibes. The characters will make you smile, and that’s actually all that matters, right? Now, I can say that I’m officially a part of The Kind of September fandom. And I’m super excited to read more about Mel’s love life. To tell you the truth, it’s one of my favorite YA fiction novels and I hope it will get more popular one day. This world, where a group of twenty-something years olds is trying to find their place and significant others while being blinded by the spotlight, definitely deserves all the attention.
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Milita.