The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes Review

Trigger warning: contents include suicide, depression, disordered eating, body shaming, physical assault, sexual assault (off page), and body dysmorphia. Be gentle with yourself if these topics are difficult for you.

“How do you live knowing the real version of yourself, while every other person in the world thinks they know a different version of you? Can the fake persona eat your real self, mimic so many of your truths that falsehoods become your reality.”

Cassidy is the 4th singer in an all girls band named Gloss. Rose, Merry, Yumi and Cassidy were a huge hit among fans and took the world by storm until the group broke up in 2002. Now, 15 years later Cassidy has died by her battle with mental health and the rest of the group and world are trying to come to terms with it. Told in dual timelines of the past and present you get a little glimpse into life of Cassidy and her life as well as her band mates and band Gloss.

Captivating, beautiful and heartbreaking! This book is such an emotional ride and I found myself invested in both the story and characters. Knowing that Cassidy dies right away at the beginning of the story (its even in the synopsis) is heavy, in a good way. You find yourself wishing the end would be different but knowing it wouldn’t be. Cassidy grew up out of the spotlight in Texas and was thrust into the world of Hollywood after coming in second on a popular singing show called Sing It. At 17, she joins the band Gloss and her world changes forever. I feel like this book touches on a lot of tough topics that a lot of famous women likely deal with in Hollywood. I highly recommend this book. It will sit with me a long time. I can not wait for Elissa Sloan to write more!