To be honest, sometimes I prefer an autobiography to a fiction book – as long as it’s well written that is! I picked up Cheryl’s book a couple of years ago when it was on offer in WHSmith and I’ve only just got around to reading it, which is kind of embarrassing! I’m not 100% sure what it was that made me procrastinate so much – but then again, I’m not entirely sure what made me buy it in the first place, apart from the fact that I like a bargain!
Before reading this book I knew very little about her and I’d never even had any interest in reading newspaper or magazine articles about her, instead just gazing at the pictures of her incredible figure and to-die-for wardrobe! I probably knew about 3 or 4 of her songs, that she was married to Ashley Cole, that she was a member of Girls Aloud and shot to fame on a show called ‘Popstars: the Rivals’, and that she is a judge on the X Factor – that was literally it! I therefore read this book with a completely open mind, which I think is best when it comes to autobiographies, just in case your ‘idol’ isn’t who you expect them to be!
I’m not going to give you a page by page outline of her life, that’s for you to read if you want to, but what I will say is that on the whole I actually enjoyed reading it. It’s crazy that applying for what is effectively a televised talent contest can have such a huge impact on someone’s life. I must admit though, that the middle of the book did kind of drag on a little and at times I thought to myself, ‘uh, get on with it’. I also felt that there is a large number of times that she refers back to her ‘estate’ and the number of people that she knows who have died from drugs which, don’t get me wrong, is terrible and I completely feel for her and their families when it comes to that, but it did seem to come across as a bit ‘poor me’ in the book. (just an honest opinion!)
Since reading the book, I’ve warmed to Cheryl – whatever her surname is now! I always think that understanding the background, thoughts and feelings of another can really help you as a person, and it sounds like she’s been through so much in such a short amount of time.
Would I read it again? Probably not, no.
Would I recommend it? Yeah, sure, it’s an easy read.
Would I read another one of Cheryl’s books if she released another? Tough question. My honest answer is that I’m not sure. I think I’d have to be in a particular mood, if you know what I mean.
