Overview
A coming-of-age story that follows the meteoric rise of singer Amber Young as she navigates fame in the late-90s and early-2000s era of pop music superstardom
It is 1997, and Amber Young has received a life-changing call. It’s a chance thousands of girls would die for: the opportunity to join girl group Cloud9 in Los Angeles and escape her small town. She quickly finds herself in the orbits of fellow rising stars Gwen Morris, a driven singer-dancer, and Wes Kingston, a member of the biggest boy band in the world, ETA.
As Amber embarks on her solo career and her fame intensifies, her rich interior life is frequently reduced. Surrounded by people who claim to love her but only wish to exploit her and driven by a desire for recognition and success, for love and sex, for agency and connection, Amber comes of age at a time when the kaleidoscope of public opinion can distort everything and one mistake can shatter a career.
With the captivating style of Stephanie Danler’s Sweetbitterand the raw honesty of Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died, Isabel Banta’s debut novel, Honey, redefines the narratives of some of the most famous pop icons of the ’90s and 2000s. It reimagines the superstars we idolized and hated, oversexualized and underestimated, and gives them the fresh, multifaceted story they deserve.
Review
Amber Young has finally received the call she has wanted her whole life. She has been given a chance to join a girl band group called Cloud9. She finds herself on the fast track surrounded by up and coming stars. She eventually breaks out on her own but it is not exactly how she thought it would be.
Amber has struggled her whole life with acceptance. She just wants to be loved. She thinks that with her rising stardom and all her fans, she will be happy. However, her world can turn on a dime and it can all go away.
This story gets a bit monotonous in places. But, I understand where Amber is coming from. Almost everyone feels this need. But, it did get a bit routine in places.
The narrator, Brittany Pressley, is super good. There are quite a few characters in this novel and she keeps them lol separate with great voices.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
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