laffi's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Addiction, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Cancer, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Drug use, Grief, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Medical content, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Outing
maggiebee101's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Stalking, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Addiction, and Alcoholism
lesliesorensen's review
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Vomit, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Alcoholism, Grief, Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Drug use, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Addiction, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Blood, Fatphobia, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, and Stalking
carld's review
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Vomit, Death, Sexual violence, Sexism, Death of parent, and Child abuse
birbmcbirb's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
roisindoylebakare's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Sexism, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Body shaming, Vomit, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism
genevieve_eggleston's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Vomit, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Minor: Excrement, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Abandonment, Animal death, Drug abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
vr_alyssa's review against another edition
3.0
So why did I decide to read this book? Well, largely because I am interested in life writing. But honestly also because I came across a news article that addressed the (forced) use of alcohol among child actors for Nickelodeon (bad reason but here we are).
For a large part of the book, the author writes from the perspective of a child. On a base level this means simple words, short sentences, etc. On a deeper level, this means naiveté, misunderstanding of circumstances, lack of reflection, etc. For example: the child puts her mom on a pedestal and wants to be just like her, despite the mother constantly putting the child in situations where she is extremely uncomfortable and forcing the child to put the mother's needs before her own. This is of course not the child's fault. If anything, it gives the reader a much better understanding of the abuse that went on: how bad it was, how deeply ingrained it became, etc. Just to be clear: that is not to say that the author is any of those things, but she has given the narrator these qualities as the narrator starts out as a child and (somewhat) gradually becomes an adult as the story progresses.
It's a heart-breaking book. The situation with her mom was so much worse than I imagined, and it makes me love my mom even more. But. The book runs on 'tell' and includes little 'show'. She skips larger periods of time without justification or explanation and often does not include information that would inform the reader how much time has passed. In some cases the skipping of time can be very productive to the story; however, I constantly felt like I was missing key information that would have helped me understand the characters and their relationships better - I am still unsure what her relationship with her brothers is like, whether they were a part of her journey from victim to survivor, or not at all. Not only that, also information that would have shaped the story, provided more structure, and even presented a clearer picture on the abuse that went on at Nickelodeon (I really do feel that there is a lot more there than was included).
Additionally, the relationship between the narrator and the mother was both the focus and not, which was distracting.
Spoiler
It is not until the last page or so that she finally acknowledges the abuse, which was a relief it indicates the narrator is doing better, but also came out of nowhere for me as it was not a steady process. The narrator (and with it the reader) checks in and out on the mother. I honestly really, really wanted to see more clearly how Jennette went from putting her mother on a pedestal to recognising how abusive she was and giving the book the title I'm Glad My Mom Died. With that I mean: the therapy, the thought process, the pain, the contradictions, etc.Spoiler
Furthermore, certain names are dropped while others are actively left out (The Creator), but then these characters disappear from the story. Her various co-stars, for example, such as Miranda and Ariana. They are sporadically mentioned in the book, and added new layers to the pain Jenette was already experiencing, but the reader is left unsatisfied as the characters disappear. Sure, Miranda and Ariana briefly reappear for a 'name-dropping-moment', but I would have liked to see the impact of these female relationships on Jennette and her image of femininity. Now, they seemed important to the story, but weren't fully explored. I think this issue could have been fixed by creating a clearer structure and taking the reader along for the ride more. It is very clear that Miranda, Ariana, and even the Victorious cast had an impact on Jennette's experience - but its not a fully formed picture in the book.
So its not a 'good' book in a literary or storytelling way, but its easy and enjoyable to read and certainly brings the story comes across. To reiterate: it is heart-breaking. Since becoming an adult, I've had a very negative view on how child-actors have been treated and it pisses me off. For me, this book once again shows that child-stardom and childhood cannot co-exist within mega-companies that care more about making fast money.
Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
walkie_check's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Vomit, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infidelity, Blood, Alcoholism, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
Minor: Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Stalking, and Classism
madamenovelist's review
5.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Blood, Addiction, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Cancer, Body shaming, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Homophobia and Stalking
Absolutely incredible memoir but the emotional & sexual abuse and graphic account of disordered eating is extremely heavy, mind the content warnings!