Scan barcode
clairebau's review against another edition
funny
informative
medium-paced
2.5
Like many Hollywood memoirs, the pacing is... weird. I found out after reading that Fisher has no less than three published memoirs, this being the last. I imagine the details I felt were missing from this book were covered in the other two, but I don't think a trilogy of memoirs is ever necessary. It seems like she knew she could count on the reveal of her affair with Harrison Ford to sell copies; most of the book was about him and somehow nothing substantial was revealed about his character or their relationship. I was disappointed by this.
Fisher is a good writer, a witty one, and has been for a while. This shone through in the diary entries that make up the middle third of this novel, plucked from the journals she'd kept during her time acting as Leia. These were a lot of fun, and usually gorgeously written, but at times felt pretentious and too boring to deserve the pedestal they were put on.
This book doesn't say much of anything, really, but what little was said was written well enough to keep me reading.
Also, this is the ugliest book cover I've ever seen in my life.
Fisher is a good writer, a witty one, and has been for a while. This shone through in the diary entries that make up the middle third of this novel, plucked from the journals she'd kept during her time acting as Leia. These were a lot of fun, and usually gorgeously written, but at times felt pretentious and too boring to deserve the pedestal they were put on.
This book doesn't say much of anything, really, but what little was said was written well enough to keep me reading.
Also, this is the ugliest book cover I've ever seen in my life.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Infidelity
readingduckling's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
4.5
I liked this book very much, some parts were really sad especially if you read between the lines.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Drug use
hannahkirkby's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
First off, I love Carrie Fisher’s way of telling things like it is, without apology or embarrassment. I’ve always loved that about her, and hearing her read the audiobook in her own voice was fantastic. As a Star Wars fan from a young age, I loved the insights into the making of the film, and into her life as a young actress.
However, this book doesn’t actually have much to it - unless you love hearing about her affair with Harrison Ford, which feels as though it comprises 70% of the book (and makes me see the man even less positively than before). And that isn’t a bad thing either. I just had different expectations of the book. It was an entertaining read, but I just was hoping for more.
And to be honest, the diary entries from her 19-year-old self were so hard to get through that I skipped half of them. The majority were about the older, married man who was using her while she was in a vulnerable stage of her life. Yuck.
Definitely going to try her other book Wishful Drinking, as I feel that will have more to offer. Still, I had an enjoyable time and it was a very nostalgic read.
However, this book doesn’t actually have much to it - unless you love hearing about her affair with Harrison Ford, which feels as though it comprises 70% of the book (and makes me see the man even less positively than before). And that isn’t a bad thing either. I just had different expectations of the book. It was an entertaining read, but I just was hoping for more.
And to be honest, the diary entries from her 19-year-old self were so hard to get through that I skipped half of them. The majority were about the older, married man who was using her while she was in a vulnerable stage of her life. Yuck.
Definitely going to try her other book Wishful Drinking, as I feel that will have more to offer. Still, I had an enjoyable time and it was a very nostalgic read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, and Infidelity
ofclumsywords's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
3.0
The inside story of a 19 year old high school drop out who lived in her famous mothers shadow as a backup singer for her shows, who suddenly gets a part in an low budget sci-fi movie that will soon blow up the screens. The book is almost bittersweet, showing how Carrie got her big break but was also told she needs to lose weight in order to become Princess Leia and falls in unrequited love. A lot of this book is about shedding light on Carrie and Harrison's affair, something that a lot of people speculated on but never got definitive answers until now. The parts of their affair, while good, took up more of the book than I had wanted; but Carrie did include a lot of her personal writing and poems she wrote of their affair and trying to find out who she really was during the filming of the movie. It is almost heartwrenching to hear in her own words how naive she was at 19 and having to learn the lessons of fame, hollywood, and love while she was so young. But the writing in her personal journals was by far my favorite part. She was an excellent writer, and those poems and journal entries put so much emotion into the words that you feel like you can connect with Carrie in a way that you hadn't felt before.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Body shaming
sadie_g's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
Loved listening to the audiobook and hearing Carrie and Billie tell Carrie’s story, I would definitely recommend listening to it. It was fun and interesting to get more informative on Carrie, Princess Leia and Star Wars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Body shaming and Alcohol
mconroy9137's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Infidelity
Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexism, Body shaming, and Drug use
Minor: Addiction and Adult/minor relationship
decameters's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Infidelity
lycheeteareads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Alcohol, and Infidelity
Moderate: Body shaming and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Addiction
sugarwookiee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Infidelity
Moderate: Body shaming and Sexism
Minor: Sexual content
melsage1823's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
A stunning, insightful and vulnerable memoir into Carrie's teenage years and how she's dealt with the huge Star Wars fame. Miss Fisher your presents and joy is still forever missed. Rest in paradise.
For my first ever Memoir, I have barley anything bad to say. It was absolutely fantastic! My only major problems was the structure and the fact that the audiobook didn't match with my copy I was reading along with. Which lost it half a star.
The structure as a mildly dyslexic reader didn't work for me. It just isn't accessible, I would have loved Carrison and Leia's lap dance broke into smaller chapters, as well as the diary entries. All the writing was fine I just would have felt more comfortable with the structure broken up better.
Also it might be the fault of the bookseller but with the audiobook and physical copy having whole chunks and paragraphs not matching it felt very messy and tricky to follow along. This is just a minor nit pick though.
Apart from that, chefs kiss. One thing I really appreciate is that the writing style especially with certain sentences in brackets, makes it feel like Carrie is physically having a casual conversation with you and that your not just reading a memoir. Fisher really tries to immerse you into her world, with her witty humour and charm. Spoilers, she succeeds. I couldn't help giggling when it came to the parts of sentences that were in brackets.
Another thing I love is her raw honesty and energy. To many celebrities want to look tough and mask their selves but Carrie isn't. Even when the reader doesn't deserve it, she is raw, honest, witty and not afraid to be vunerable. Her voice ripples threw and she is honest about why just now she wants to share her journal entries and certain other private events just now. I don't think Carrie ever realised this but her willingness to be open about her thoughts about herself has probably helped a lot of people be willing to talk about their mental health as well.
Finally, the journal entries themselves. I saw some reviews complaining that they're nothing to do with Star Wars but she was a teenage girl for goodness sake! Of course she's gonna be talking about boys. That's what most teenage girls were expected to do. Relating back to my previous comments, the journal entries are honest and authentically Carrie. Probably because her journals were intended to be a safe place to vent her secrets but still. I was really worried about them not being true to Carrie but they indeed were. Some of the entries read like beautiful poetry and most importantly told a story. Those diary entries alone, foretold Carries potential as a fabulous writer.
Overall, a memoir completely worth the read, even if your not a Star Wars fan. Its about the story of a teenager dealing with love and fame that after looking at her parents, didn't want to repeat. We will forever miss you, dear princess.
For my first ever Memoir, I have barley anything bad to say. It was absolutely fantastic! My only major problems was the structure and the fact that the audiobook didn't match with my copy I was reading along with. Which lost it half a star.
The structure as a mildly dyslexic reader didn't work for me. It just isn't accessible, I would have loved Carrison and Leia's lap dance broke into smaller chapters, as well as the diary entries. All the writing was fine I just would have felt more comfortable with the structure broken up better.
Also it might be the fault of the bookseller but with the audiobook and physical copy having whole chunks and paragraphs not matching it felt very messy and tricky to follow along. This is just a minor nit pick though.
Apart from that, chefs kiss. One thing I really appreciate is that the writing style especially with certain sentences in brackets, makes it feel like Carrie is physically having a casual conversation with you and that your not just reading a memoir. Fisher really tries to immerse you into her world, with her witty humour and charm. Spoilers, she succeeds. I couldn't help giggling when it came to the parts of sentences that were in brackets.
Another thing I love is her raw honesty and energy. To many celebrities want to look tough and mask their selves but Carrie isn't. Even when the reader doesn't deserve it, she is raw, honest, witty and not afraid to be vunerable. Her voice ripples threw and she is honest about why just now she wants to share her journal entries and certain other private events just now. I don't think Carrie ever realised this but her willingness to be open about her thoughts about herself has probably helped a lot of people be willing to talk about their mental health as well.
Finally, the journal entries themselves. I saw some reviews complaining that they're nothing to do with Star Wars but she was a teenage girl for goodness sake! Of course she's gonna be talking about boys. That's what most teenage girls were expected to do. Relating back to my previous comments, the journal entries are honest and authentically Carrie. Probably because her journals were intended to be a safe place to vent her secrets but still. I was really worried about them not being true to Carrie but they indeed were. Some of the entries read like beautiful poetry and most importantly told a story. Those diary entries alone, foretold Carries potential as a fabulous writer.
Overall, a memoir completely worth the read, even if your not a Star Wars fan. Its about the story of a teenager dealing with love and fame that after looking at her parents, didn't want to repeat. We will forever miss you, dear princess.
Content Warnings
Minor: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Body shaming