100 Books in One Year: Miles to Go by Miley Cyrus
By Marra Alane | Posted Under Book Reviews | Comments (36)
The worst part of Miley Cyrus’s autobiography (yes, a fifteen year old has an autobiography — try not to let that thought derail you) isn’t the unbearable shout-outs to Daddy and Jesus or the irritating platitudes to her friends and family or grateful thanks to everyone (and I do mean every single goddamn person) who’s ever helped her in her career. It’s the fact that the book is kind of, well, cute. Adorable, really. And despite the giant text and picture sections and cloying ‘advice’ for her readers, the book is actually surprisingly…good. God, it hurt to type that.
The book starts out with Cyrus* at the beginning of her sixth grade year, which is when she first auditioned for Hannah Montana. She tells tales of her being bullied in school, which sort of smacks of ‘look at me, I’m so relate-able’ bullshit, but sometimes I did feel bad for her, and the way she turned to her music (if you can call it that) and writing to help her get through her tough times was sweet (shut up, it was). She also babbles about how hard it was for her to get the part of Hannah Montana (the producers wanted her for another part or something … I wasn’t really paying attention) and how important her family is to her, which, let’s face it, is super boring to read about. And even though she’s lived a rather atypical teenage life to say the least, she still prattles on about first boyfriend bullshit and tween drama to show she’s “just like you!” Also, the girl loves Jeebus, and if I hear her say she’s so ‘blessed’ for all the concerts and ‘acting’ she’s been able to do one more time, I swear to her God I’ll fucking throttle her. But if I’m perfectly honest, she’s sort of funny, and she’s actually not a bad writer. At all. Don’t get me wrong, I wish she was, because it’d be way more fun to rip into her rather than write a review about how nice and normal she seems, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
Interspersed throughout the text are little side notes written in fake handwriting, commenting on her own writing, I Am America And So Can You-style, which are really just too cute for words. There are also lists breaking up the story — things like “Fifty things I Want To Do Before I Die” and “Ten Things That Are Really Important To Me” and “Favorite Foods.” As much as I hate to admit it, there’s something sort of heartbreakingly sweet and endearing about a girl who puts peace in the Middle East and attending prom on the same list.
I didn’t know a whole lot about Miley Cyrus (real name: Tiffany. Seriously) before picking up the book as my own personal April Fool’s Day Prank to me, and I still don’t. The book assumes a high level of knowledge about the girl’s life and I’ll admit I didn’t really care about her professional activities or learning more about her to bother trying to figure it out. But after reading the book, I have to say, she’s just cute as a button.
Also, I begrudgingly give her a lot of credit for writing a book by herself. Even though I’m sure her editor had to rewrite whole sections of it, she didn’t have a ghost writer, which puts her above both Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton when it comes to celebrity authorship. Not that that’s difficult, mind you, but still, it should be praised. At least now we know the poor girl is literate.
(*I feel dirty referring to her by her last name. Like it gives her credibility as an author or something.)
This review is part of the Cannonball Read series. Details are here and the growing number of participants and their blogs are here. And check here for more of Marra Alane’s reviews.
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Comments
Posted by: Christopher at April 9, 2009 9:28 AM
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