A Nostalgic Early 2000's Read

HOLY.  SHIT. 

This book was GOOD.

When I heard about The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes on Book of the Month (BOTM), it was advertised towards fans of Daisy Jones and the Six and targeted around the early 2000's. The first line on the back of the book description was:  

"She is "Sassy Gloss", the fourth member of the hottest pop group America has ever seen. Hotter than Britney dancing with a snake, hotter than Christina getting dirrty"

   and that got me hooked. 

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes follows the story of early 2000's all-girl band (very similar to the Spice Girls), called Gloss. There are four members of this group: Rose, Merry (Meredith), Yumi, and Cassidy. All four girls literally have names that remind of of the Spice Girls names (Cherry, Tasty, Sassy, and Rosy). The book starts off with the suicide of former Gloss member Cassidy in 2017 and then alternates between Cassidy's POV in the 2000's and then present day POV of the other members. 

I was engrossed in this story from the very first page. I do love me some early 2000's nostalgia, but I also enjoyed the author's writings of the Hollywood scene, and all the secrets and lies that truly build up our celebrity network. 

This book deals with a lot of intense topics, and is handled in a delicate yet realistic of the times way. There are trigger warnings for abuse, sexual abuse, substance use, depression, and suicide. 

The girls of Gloss had a pretty bad break up (don't all girl bands?) and they all lost touch, so when the news of Cassidy's suicide hit, they were all surprised and taken back stating; "no, not Cassidy!" Little did they know of the pain and secrets that Cassidy was hiding since her Gloss days. 

As we go through the story, we are given a first-hand look into Cassidy's rise to Stardom. We see her change in many different ways, not always good, to fit Hollywood's image, and we see her success climb. Every single character in this book was addicting, even the less than likable ones.

Just like when I read Daisy Jones and the Six, I had to physically remind myself several times that Gloss is not a real band. That is how realistic the writing and description of the events and scenes were. Hollywood is dirty now, and was dirty back then. Women were sexualized, still are, and we see how Cassidy tries to learn how to handle that, despite wanting to be more than just a pretty face. This book also raises conversation around the #MeToo movement, and even though it has gained popularity now, it was still occurring even back in the early 2000's. (I sometimes think we forget that because we are so fixated on the nostalgia of things, we bat an eye at the negative).

Overall this book was excellent. I was addicted, never wanting to put it down and also sad when it ended because I loved it so much and wanted more. If I could give this more than 5 stars, I absolutely would.