Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

Release Date: May 19, 2016
Publisher: Macmillan
Rated: YA 14+
Format: ARC
Source: Pansing
Buy: Available at all good bookstores!
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From debut author Goldy Moldavsky, the story of four superfan friends whose 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 hurts.


How did it get this far? Who knows. I mean midterms are coming up. I really do not have time to go to hell.

Um, I don't even know where to start.

I really wanted to read Kill the Boy Band for several reasons. First of all, it sounded downright hilarious. The kind of dark humour I would appreciate. It makes fun of fangirls! Who doesn't want to read a book making fun of today's society? Secondly, having been in a throng of Beliebers once, I know fangirls are crazy and trés dangerous. I was at the front of the standing pit right by the stage at a Justin Bieber concert, and trust me, I DID NOT WANT TO BE THERE. Girls were slamming into me and it took me all my will power to not turn around and start swearing at middle school and high school girls. So much for just wanting the concert experience and seeing Owl City. Anyway, my point is that having known fangirls up close, it would be interesting to see this action going absolutely haywire. But sadly, it didn't work for me. Kill the Boy Band was a bit of a mess. Some of it was good, don't get me wrong, but most of it...just nope. Nope, nope, nope-ity nope.

What I did like about the novel was how darkly funny it was. It was only after I'd finished reading it that I was able to take a step back and enjoy it. While I was reading this book I really didn't enjoy pretty much ANYTHING that was going on, but only after I was done I realised how this was a caricature of the fangirls in our society today. Otherwise, I kinda found the book a little bit off for my taste, because I thought the events that occured were WAY too extreme...and I'm not just talking about the kidnapping-one-of-the-Ruperts members bit. I tend to get dark humour most of the time, but for some reason, at times this wasn't hitting it on the nail for me.

I was just annoyed at the events in this book in general. Again–I'm a pretty big fan of dark humour, but this brand I just did NOT understand. The twist towards the end didn't make much sense and didn't seem to have much weight to it either. Whether it was supposed to be light-hearted or not confused me, just because some of the stuff earlier on in the book was pretty heavy-handed. It was a bit of a up and down book, because there were quite a few laughable moments in there too, especially describing how desperate some of the fangirls are, some of the shenanigans that the four girls get up to with the singer they kidnap, and the cheesiness of the story.

The Ruperts are very clearly based on One Direction! The talent show they debuted on, some of the audition details, they're effing BRITISH, how they became a band...it's all very clearly mirroring how One Direction came to be. It was kinda funny actually, because from that point on I was trying to picture which Rupert represented which 1D member. I liked that they were modelled after them, as it truly brought out the satirical nature of this novel.

The four girls though–UGH. I mean...these are FIFTEEN YEAR OLDS?! How in hell do they have this much freedom? It's absolutely ridiculous what they all get up to. Especially Erin. Oh gods, how I loathed that girl. I felt kinda angry at parts because of the fat-shaming that went on with Apple. Isabel just had major anger management issues? I don't even know. I felt a little bit bad for the protagonist though because she's stuck with a bunch of people even crazier than she is. The characters felt really two-dimensional, but I don't know whether or not that was intentional, as this is supposed to be making fun of fangirls.

Maybe it was me who just didn't get it because there are several great reviews for Kill the Boy Band. I would recommend giving this one a try, because it does poke fun at one of the biggest phenomenons in our society today, blows a situation WAY out of proportion, and presents this over-the-top story that does provide some giggles along the way. I just wish that I'd had a better standing with this novel, because it does scream "YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK!" and I just...I dunno, came out with mixed feelings. Definitely give this one a try though!

▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Sasha at Pansing for sending me a copy for review! ▪ ▪ ▪

If you like this, try...

• Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout ● Goodreads
• Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen by Dyan Sheldon ● Goodreads

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