‘The Unraveling Of Cassidy Holmes’ Is A Must Read For Anyone Interested In The Dark Secrets Of The Music Industry

Posted On January 6, 2021

Samantha Colleran, January 2021

*Author’s Note: This book contains triggering topics that people may not feel comfortable reading about, which are all listed above. If you’re uncomfortable with any of these topics, avoid reading this post and this book. Remember that your mental health always comes first! Also please be warned that there are some slight spoilers ahead!*

Some time in early September I was scrolling through Twitter, checking up on what was trending and searching the music topic when I stumbled across a thread about a fictional book relating to the music industry. In that thread another book was mentioned, titled The Unraveling Of Cassidy Holmes, which is a more recent release. I was totally intrigued by the description, and I decided to order it after discovering the first book mentioned in the thread was not available to order at the time. With the ups and downs of the past semester, I found myself picking up the book at times and not being able to stop, and other times completely forgetting about it with all of my schoolwork. I finally finished it, and I was really impressed with it!

The story starts off in present day, and it’s revealed within the first page that Cassidy Holmes, beloved member of the girl group Gloss, has committed suicide, and the remaining three members of the band are just learning about the shocking news. Cassidy Holmes is told in alternating time periods; the past and the present. The book follows the story of Cassidy, who in the past was a teenage girl from Houston with a passion for singing that made it to the final three of a show called Sing It! (think American Idol or The Voice), which she ends up losing. She quickly gains the attention of big wigs in the industry and is asked to sign on to a deal for a girl group called Gloss, who is in need of a fourth member. 

There’s immediate tension since the original fourth member, Viv, was unable to sign with the rest of the Gloss girls due to her health. So that leaves Cassidy with the three remaining members Merry, Yumi, and Rose. Their voices blend incredibly well upon their first meeting, and although there’s a lot of unspoken feelings (especially between Rose and Cassidy, since Rose and Viv were incredibly close and Rose didn’t want to replace her), it’s clear that they have something special as a group.

The Unraveling Of Cassidy Holmes shows the darker sides of the music industry, and just how messy it can get. The first sign of this horror is when the label tells Yumi and Cassidy that they need to lose weight, and they get put on a strict diet which causes Yumi and Cassidy to lose an extreme amount of weight. Yumi experiences a lot of racism within the industry, since she’s the only Japanese member of the group. Each girl ends up getting a Gloss nickname (like the Spice Girls), and Yumi ends up being called Tasty Gloss, since many people mispronounce her name as ‘yummy’ and not as ‘you-me’. We learn how the industry will go as far as they can to cover for their biggest clients, even when they’re involved in horrific incidents including physical assault. 

We see all of the events that lead up to Cassidy’s suicide, and just how tragic it can be to work in such a cut throat industry. Each character has their share of losses and tragedy, and seeing how each individual deals with it is so interesting. There’s characters you’re supposed to root for, characters you’re supposed to hate, and characters that are a mix. Although it deals with a lot of heavy topics, it’s a really important read and if you’re someone interested in the music or entertainment industry in general and are able to stomach these topics, it’s worth the read. If you’ve read this book please let me know your thoughts! If this post inspired you to pick up your own copy of The Unraveling Of Cassidy Holmes, please come back to this post when you’re done and let me know what you thought of it!