The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes - Elissa R. Sloan
Start: September 5th 2020
Finish: September 27th 2020
Rated: 5
Likes: Originality with connections to reality, Hard topics, Fly on the Wall feeling
Dislikes: None
Notes: Different from Daisy Jones and the Six, but that ended up being good
You know that moment after watching a really good movie in theaters, when you walk out into the real world and everything feels altered for a few hours? That is how this book made me feel.
It's like I live in this books reality. Where the Glossies were huge back in the early 2000s, I imagine them being similar to the Spice Girls, because clearly that is where they were inspired. I feel as if I just watched a documentary, but at the same time I feel like I was a fly on their wall observing their lives; hearing their thoughts.
I originally picked this up because I had heard through the grapevine that this was recommended to people who enjoyed Daisy Jones and The Six, which happened to be my favorite book of last year. I'm actually glad to say that it really wasn't like it at all besides the aspect of music and the group breaking up. I think I would have been disappointed in this book had it not had it's own twist of originality.
You love to hate these characters, but you also hate to love them. All of them are flawed, as people in the real world are. They have all been through it and the author wrote it all so well. There are some triggering topics in this book that are listed in the first few pages, which is such a great addition! Applause to the author and publishing group. But these things, in my opinion, are what made the book seem so real to me. It's a serious behind the scenes, enter the minds of people that have experienced some shit. Throughout the entire book, I felt for Cassidy. I don't know if it was because I knew her fate from the start, or if it's because I saw her slowly deteriorate and become someone unrecognizable, by no fault of her own. It's like watching a movie or show you've seen before and knowing a bad or cringe scene is coming up. You so badly want reality to bend so that the original fate is changed, but it never ends up happening. Besides Cassidy, Yumi is the character I felt the closest to. I felt for her. She was experiencing blatant racism in her field but could absolutely nothing about it. How they called her Yummy or Tasty? That was horrifying and I don't doubt that things like that happen in the entertainment industry all the time. In the end, I really felt for her too. I felt like she, out of everyone, deserved better. Merry was a character I was honestly indifferent about. I liked her more in the beginning of the book, and I understand why she was relevant in the end but it more felt like a story arc for Rose. Rose. I liked Rose for a brief minute. If you read the book, you know when. But other than that, I really felt she was a horrible person. She was manipulative and selfish. She benefited off the pain and hurt of the other members and other people in general. She claimed she wanted what was best for the group to make them as successful and they could be, but in reality she wanted all the fame and success for her, not the others. The way this book ended really shows her character, and leaves it up to the reader to decipher or even decide what was behind the fame facade.
I deduced that there had to be some personal experience similar to what she was writing about, so once I finished the story I was eager to read her snippet. Sloan suffers depression herself, similar to Cassidy Holmes, and once she finished writing this book she realized she herself needed to talk with someone about how she was feeling. She also said that she felt it relevant to connect the Me Too movement into her book as it is something that needs to be spread and vocalized.
Overall this author is an incredible writer and the writing is what made me love this book. I loved it's originality while also mirroring elements from reality. It may have taken me some time to read, but that was due to my own personal reading slump. This book was fantastic.
The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes - Elissa R. Sloan
