Title: His Biggest Fan
Author: J. Tomas
Length: 7,892 words (21 pdf pages)
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m contemporary YA
Rating: B-
Blurb:
My best friend Ross is Adam Blue’s biggest fan. Adam’s the lead singer of the popular rock group, Viral Blue, but to Ross, he’s some sort of rock god. I don’t get it. Ross has all their albums, reads all their interviews, watches all their videos, and knows every little thing about the group — and Adam — by heart. He’s convinced it’s his destiny to run away with the band. He’ll tell anyone he and Adam are soulmates … especially me, and I’m sick of hearing about it.
In all the time we’ve known each other, Ross has never looked at me the same way he moons over Adam. I hate that guy, and I don’t even know him! Sometimes I think he’s Ross’s BFF and not me.
When I hear VB’s coming to town, I decide to treat Ross to the concert. Show him a good time, show him how I really feel. But with Adam Blue gyrating his hips onstage, will Ross even notice I’m there?
Brief:
This is a cute story of that first love, that is thwarted by celebrity worship. Our first person narrator has been crushing on his friend Ross for some time, he even goes so far as to let him play, repeatedly, the album by the band Viral Blue. Our narrator doesn’t really like the band, but he likes Ross. When Ross finds out the band is coming to play near them he’s ecstatic, he’s finally going to have the chance to meet his crush, the band’s front-man who is openly gay. Ross is certain they’ll fall madly in love and the singer will sweep him off to nights of unearthly delight. However he is quickly brought back to earth by a mother who refuses to give him $120 for a ticket.
Our narrator hopes that by getting Ross a ticket and taking him to the concert he’ll curry favour with Ross, however all it does is make Ross even more obsessive about the singer and the “connection” he’s sure they share until after the concert our narrator (who doesn’t seem to have a name) finally loses it and tells Ross to get a grip. While it upsets Ross, it also opens the door for him to look at his friend as something more than a convenient ride to school.
While sadly, we may think that most teens are far more realistic than to think a 30 year old rocker is going to fall in love with them and sweep them off their feet, sadly I hear the stories of my daughter and there are a few like that. One stood outside a hotel in New York City for 6 hours, it paid off, she spoke to the celebrity and has paid money (well, her parents) to travel to other cities and buy tickets that ensure backstage access. So I think Ross’ obsession with the band was pretty accurate, as well as the narrator’s more down-to-earth perspective on the whole issue. There are kids on both sides of the coin.
Is this a HEA? I doubt it. They are 15 and 16, it’s unlikely to last forever, but I think for young people, wanting to read about others going through something similar, crushing on a friend who doesn’t know your alive, it’s a cute story. They sound like typical kids which is one of the author’s strong points with her YA. You never sense they are 16 going on 30. They are kids, with all the immaturity that comes with that.
I wouldn’t believe an HEA for kids of that age!
Exactly. You don’t expect it. It ended just as they kind of realize they could/should date, but my expectations in a YA are completely different and I’d be rolling my eyes if an author tried to make it seem like they were destined for eternal happiness at 15.
I think with most YA books the romance aspect is a ‘first love’ type romance. This sounds like a decent story.
It was cute and the narrator’s frustration with his friend’s obsession, which he knew was hopeless was well done.