Blog Tour Review: The Brightsiders

Title: The Brightsiders
Author: Jen Wilde
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: May 22, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A teen rockstar has to navigate family, love, coming out, and life in the spotlight after being labeled the latest celebrity trainwreck in Jen Wilde’s quirky and utterly relatable novel.

As a rock star drummer in the hit band The Brightsiders, Emmy King’s life should be perfect. But there’s nothing the paparazzi love more than watching a celebrity crash and burn. When a night of partying lands Emmy in hospital and her girlfriend in jail, she’s branded the latest tabloid train wreck.

Luckily, Emmy has her friends and bandmates, including the super-swoonworthy Alfie, to help her pick up the pieces of her life. She knows hooking up with a band member is exactly the kind of trouble she should be avoiding, and yet Emmy and Alfie Just. Keep. Kissing.

Will the inevitable fallout turn her into a clickbait scandal (again)? Or will she find the strength to stand on her own?

Review:

This book is amazing!

There is great representation of a variety of genders and orientations in this book. Some characters are bi, others are gay or non/binary. I believe this is the first book I’ve read with a non-binary character who prefers the pronoun “they.” At first, it was a little confusing when I read “they” referring to a single person. I thought I had missed another person entering the scene. But I got used it pretty quickly, and I loved the diversity.

Another important aspect of this book is the paparazzi culture. We see one side of the story in the photos, but we don’t know what is actually happening in the celebrities’ lives. Emmy looked like she was falling apart, but that was influenced by the tabloids’ opinions. Not everything is what it seems in the magazines.

I love the characters. I wish I could join their group of friends. They had so much fun, and it made me so jealous! And I totally loved Emmy and Alfie! They were definitely my favourite characters!

If you haven’t read Queens of Geek, you should read it before The Brightsiders. It isn’t a sequel, but the characters from Queens of Geek made a couple of appearances in this book, and it would spoil the ending of that book because you would see where they ended up.

I just loved this book and I’m going to recommend it to everyone!

About the Author:

Giveaway:

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