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My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend by Eleanor Wood - Review

Monday, January 2, 2017

Where did I get it? I bought it at YA Shot. Eleanor was one of the panellists in the music panel, and I liked her and the sound of her novel, so immediately went to buy it from the Waterstones stall and then went to get Eleanor to sign it for me. We talked about zines and music tattoos and honestly she is one of the nicest authors I've ever met!

What's it about? Tuesday Cooper (yes that's her real name) is 18 and about to do her A levels. She's got two good friends, Nishi and Anna (who are a couple), and a boyfriend in a band, Seymour. She's really into vintage clothes and older, alternative music, and she writes about music on her blog. She's into a modern band called Sour Apple and likes their lead singer, Jackson Griffith. She blogs about him at one point, and someone saying he is Jackson comments on the post. No one believes it's him, but eventually Tuesday starts up an email relationship with him, and then agrees to go to London to meet him. He's a typical rock star - a bit muddled, a bit of a mess, but with a lot of charisma and charm. 

I sort of want to review this book from three perspectives. They definitely all popped into my head as I was reading it, so here we go.

Firstly - as a writer I often look at books with a view to HOW they're written, and whether I would've written things in the same way or not. Each chapter of this book starts with some kind of electronic message - whether it's a blog post from Tuesday or an email between her and Jackson, or something else. I liked this, and thought it was cleverly done. It moved the action on from day to day very neatly. I felt like Tuesday's character and relationship with her mum were beautiful and so true to life, and I felt like their working class lives were talked about honestly, which I also really loved. 

Secondly, as an adult reader I was sort of cringing through some of the book. Tuesday tells just one person where she is going when she goes to meet Jackson, and never tells her mother what she's up to (even though the two of them are quite close). Be safe online, kids, please! Jackson is also 5 years older than Tuesday and he's quite relentless in his persuing of her, and in parts it come off as creepy. He doesn't get a free pass, not at all, but even so, at the beginning I wanted Tuesday to be more wary of him. Which, of course, would have made it a really different novel of course! 

Thirdly, though, thinking of myself as a teen reader, I fell very deeply for Tuesday and her story. I loved her, her hair dye, her vintage clothes, her amazing taste in music. If we were both 18 and Tuesday was real, I would definitely, absolutely be her friend. I would take her to Grin in Leeds and Morgana in Wakefield and the Byram Arcade in Huddersfield. I'd skive off college with her to get coffee with her and I'd buy blue coloured cocktails with her in Wetherspoons. I also loved Nishi and Anna, and Seymour was the exact kind of idiot boy who thinks he's a god just because he's in a band that I knew hundreds of. I liked Jackson too, when he was being a decent human. In all, this is a really good novel about love and music and friendship and growing up. 

What age range is it for? 15+, there's nothing too salacious in it 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, Nishi and Anna. They're very sweet and I liked how their relationship was portrayed. 
Are any main characters people of colour? I think Nishi is, but it's not mentioned directly.
Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No
Is there any sex stuff? Not really at all.
Are drugs mentioned or used? Yes, mentioned 
Is there any talk of death? Not really
Are there swear words? Not many, which I think I would have actually put as a negative because I think actual teens swear more!
Would I recommend the book? Yes, absolutely. 
Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I was perusing the bookshelves just before Christmas and wanted something fairly light to read over Christmas. Not one regret!
How many stars? Eight out of ten, maybe even veering towards a nine. I really liked it, please don't think my criticisms mean it's a bad book. 
Where is the book going now? I'll keep it since it's signed to me, of course!

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