A review by queenfury
The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan

dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Blink, and Cassidy was gone. All those years. Her multiplatinum records, her dozens of televised appearances, her outfits on display at the Smithsonian--none of that mattered; they were done fifteen years ago. But the delicate tap when she dented a sugar cookie dough ball with one finger, the delight she had when scratching a dog under the chin, the way she made people feel when they were around her--that had disappeared. Evaporated like ether.

there is something really special about elissa r. sloan's prose that makes her writing so engaging. even with a cast of unlikable characters, in a horrendous industry, she crafted a page-turner that broke my heart time and time again. even the dramatic irony of the novel beginning with all three of the surviving members of gloss having back to back to back pov chapters where each of them proclaims in turn to be
"the one who was the closest to cassidy in the group"
hits so hard because it is, somehow, true and not true for every single one of them. they all thought
they were the closest to her, but none of them really knew her at all,
which is what makes the climax so effective.

that being said, there are things i wanted more of. despite cassidy being the main character, i do wish we had gotten to know the other three girls better; it felt like i knew more about lucy bowen and soleil than i did about yumi, for example. i think the jerry subplot wrapped up too abruptly and neatly, with no further worry about him. and finally, whilst i saw the reveal of
cassidy's bisexuality
coming a mile away, i do think it should have been foreshadowed a little bit more than it actually was; though i suppose realism is realism and sometimes you don't know until you know!
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