Ariana: The Biography

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She has already released remixes of the album’s most popular songs, the most recent featuring Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat. Fast forward ten years, and now Jennette McCurdy, unencumbered by a character she seems to wish she'd never had to embody, has written her own truth. It's raw, unfiltered and without pretense and possesses more than a little of that jaded humor, suggesting that maybe you can never fully escape who you are, even when you're acting. In the fashion realm, Grande’s iconic style has also made her one of the most recognizable celebrities in the industry, from her commanding ponytail to her brightly coloured baby doll dresses.

it’s very fast pace. i appreciated how Jennette didn’t go into a ton of detail regarding certain subjects. it was just “yup this is was it is, this is how it is, and this is what i’m doing about it” it was very raw and real in my opinion. no flowery language Some people should just NOT have children, folks. It's just that simple. I mean, what they say really is true: a lot of people spend their adulthood just trying to get over their childhoods. And that's even true for "GOOD" parents.This celebrity memoir might be a difficult book, but you should never miss the opportunity to read it. There is a lot to be said about the ways this reflects a general attitude around young women and girls, especially in the entertainment industry and how it robs them of their own agency. ‘ I was conditioned to believe any boundary I wanted was a betrayal of her, so I stayed silent,’ she writes, and in this we see how these systems perpetuate themselves: silence. Young women and girls are broken down to believe they are in service to another (we could get into a long discussion on how this is the social framing inflicted by the intersections of misogyny and capitalism) and silence is induced by making them first feel they wouldn’t be believed or listened to but also that they deserve it, it’s for their own good or that they don’t even have the agency to speak out. It is truly tragic how often victims of abuse are silenced when they do speak out, which is another tool in oppression.

The writing is easy to read but still poignant. I think Jennette did a great job recounting the events of her life. I especially appreciate how she recounted her childhood; she really nailed writing from the perspective of a naïve child who doesn’t realize how awful her mother is. She also expresses feelings of regret for having lashed out in these times, looking at how abuse shouldn’t just beget another cycle of abuse, and these discussions seem to come from a place of maturity and healing. It is likely very encouraging and empowering for victims of abuse to read much of this book, though heads up, it does get into some very triggering situations and topics. Some people say it is better to speak about the positive sides of the dead person during the time of grief, but not focus on their negative facets as everybody also has a negative side to their personalities along with the positives. But what will we do if the person only has a negative side and the positive side is almost nil? I think it is better to remain silent than to focus on the negatives during mourning. While I was in college in my early 20’s, I stopped by my mother’s apartment for a visit. She walked right by me in the parking lot. She said that I was so fat that I looked pregnant, and she didn’t recognize me.I don't like when grown-ups make faces or sounds that I don't understand. It's frustrating. It makes me feel like I'm missing something.”

So this book is a lot, but it is also very good and seems very healing. I was under the impression based on how it was presented and marketed that this was more of a comedic memoir, so heads up if that was what you assumed as well, but the weight and power of her words as she discusses a lifetime of abuse is definitely worth reading for. It does read very plainly, almost like a “class assignment” type of tone recounting events, though they are certainly difficult memories to have to revisit. I hope McCurdy is doing well, and it is very honorable of her to use her experience to reach out and help others in this way. There could have been more depth to some of it, but this is less a look at the causes and social critiques and more at the personal effects she endured. There are great reminders too about how to move forward and not get bogged down in being perfect, such as when she writes that ‘ slips are totally normal. When you have a slip, it’s just that. A slip. It doesn’t define you. It doesn’t make you a failure. The most important thing is that you don’t let that slip become a slide‘. I won’t get too much more into it, as you should probably read the book and this is McCurdy's story to tell, but I am very glad I read this. I became an angry person with no tolerance for anyone. I'm aware of this shift and yet have no desire to change it. If anything, I want it. It's armor. It's easier to be angry than to feel to pain underneath it.’ Whenever we hear the name Jennette McCurdy a bubbly, loud, energetic young lady comes to our mind, as her friend Miranda Cosgrove mentions in this book. This book tells us that there were a lot of hardships and sorrow hidden behind those energetic and brilliant performances. A truly incredible and hard-hitting memoir. Whether you watched Jennette’s shows growing up (like me) or you don’t know her at all, I think this book is a must read. I don’t want to go into too many details, so I’ll just share some of my thoughts:this is a very candid account on the abuse jennette mccurdy suffered at the hands of her narcissistic mother, and how that merged with her experience as a child actress. i don’t think you need to be familiar with her show, or even know/care about her as a person to glean lots from this book, and i think it's an important text that could even be considered historical, due to her nature as a public figure and the way her story is likely representative of a much larger population of child actors. Most streamed pop album in one week (USA) – Thank U, Next attracted 307 million on-demand audio streams in the US in the week following the album’s release on 8 February 2019, easily surpassing the 126.7 million streams for Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) when it landed at No.1 on 25 March 2017. Furthermore, the writer had no meaningful access to those that were closest to Malcolm – friends, family, collaborators etc. In fact, the writer of this book was made aware at the outset of the process of writing this book that the family and friends of Malcolm were uncomfortable with him authoring this biography, yet he chose to proceed against our polite insistence that he not do disservice to Malcolm’s legacy through writing a book without legitimate primary sources.” And the kids who are annoying, don't take direction, ask questions—those are the kids who won't get sent out on auditions. The kids who will get auditions are the ones who shut up and do as they're told."