Because I Want To review it! (Growing Pains - Billie Piper)

Member Name: CTVicky

Product:	Growing Pains - Billie Piper
Date:	19/08/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting celebrity anecdotes, sends out the right message about eating disorders

Disadvantages: Ghost-written

I should note, to begin with, that the book I bought had an extra volume added to it; an update in Billie's life.

I've always been interested in Billie Piper. I'm only two years younger than her and I followed her from her pop star days right through to her role as Rose Tyler in the revamped Dr. Who series; in which she excelled.

I eventually bought "Growing Pains" last year after knowing about it for a long time. I knew it would be an interesting read as soon as I got wind of its release, but I must say I was surprised with the rave reviews it received from broadsheet newspapers, considering the harsh press she often gets.

The start of the book sees Billie, at fourteen years old, about to sign a piece of paper that would change the course of her life; her singing contract. She talks about that for several pages, then she takes us right back to her working-class roots in Swindon, and from there on in, it's in chronological order.

She describes her secondary school years - prior to achieving fame - as a time when she got drunk, took drugs and had sex. I have to say I wasn't impressed with this. She seems to blame her mother giving her attention to Billie's younger siblings for this behaviour, when really, she had parents who absolutely doted on her and gave her anything she wanted.

It starts getting interesting when her parents allow her the privilege of attending the Sylvia Young "fame" style school and she hones her skills. It's here where it becomes clear that acting is her calling, NOT singing.

When she finally hits the 'big-time' as a singer, she comes undone and can't cope with the pressure of having to look good, with the underlying knowledge that she's not a born singer. She unfortunately develops an eating disorder. She really emphasises the fact that it's nothing to be proud of, or to want to aspire to. She lays on thick all the disgusting aspects of eating disorders that, frankly, I believe, the media keeps under wraps, and I say bravo to Billie for that.

The best part of the book is when Billie finally meets the ginger-haired one, Chris Evans. Her life takes on a whole new meaning; she recovers from her eating disorder and is truly happy for the first time in her life. They go on all kinds of adventures. This for me was the most exciting part of the book. I really got a sense of how happy she was at this time. It felt like a real transitional period in her life, like she was finally becoming the woman she would turn out to be.

All in all, I enjoyed reading Billie's autobiography very much. By the end of the book I liked her even more than before, despite not approving of some of her behaviour or attitudes. I've deliberately left a lot of information about the book out because what you discover inside is very exciting!

One thing that disappointed me was something I found out while reading the acknowledgments. The book was ghost-written. I'm a real stickler when it comes to issues of the literary world and I think it lets "Growing Pains" down as a book.

Still, I love this a lot and I would recommend it to anyone.

Summary: Full of excitement and adventure