Take a photo of a barcode or cover
852 reviews for:
Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire
Ashley Spencer
4.0 AVERAGE
852 reviews for:
Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire
Ashley Spencer
4.0 AVERAGE
informative
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Loved hearing all of the behind the scenes info from the cast and crew! So nostalgic
informative
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
this was an entertaining interesting read! I liked hearing about the inception of Disney channel (that was the most interesting part to me) and hearing the stories of the shows through the years. this got me back into audiobooks and was perfect to listen to while driving to work, cleaning, doing chores etc and I flew through it! it was engaging and well done. however now having finished it I don't remember much, and am not taking away much from the book. once it got into the history of each show, it became more just explaining what happened, a lot of which either is already known to the public, or was not suuuper interesting to me. I loved learning little tid bits about the behind the scenes of my favourite childhood shows and movies, and I loved hearing about the intentions and plans at the very beginning and how Disney channel became something beyond the company's expectations. just wish it was perhaps more insightful or idk, at the end it felt more surface level. still an engaging read!
emotional
informative
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I grew up with a majority of the content referenced, and I think that is a major reason why I enjoyed this so much. The nostalgia factor hit hard, as well as the ability to recognize what is being talked about from first-hand experience. Therefore, if you didn’t grow up or aren’t familiar with the era of Disney Channel being talked about in this book, I don’t think you’ll enjoy it as much. For instance, I didn’t grow up with The Mickey Mouse Club, so I didn’t engage or enjoy that chapter compared to the rest. I think this book had a good balance of informative content and reflective content. It knew its purpose, and that stayed consistent throughout the book. The ending was a bit abrupt, but I did like that it went into the current and fall of the hype/relevancy of Disney Channel in the epilogue. I just wish that just a little bit more time and detail went into the fall of popularity of the Disney Channel and its stars. The parts that it discussed was great; I just wish there was a little bit more. This book also mostly focuses on the most popular shows, rather than DCOMs, with the exception of, of course, the High School Musical franchise, which was a perfect and necessary inclusion with its two chapters. I enjoyed and would recommend this. (I will potentially buy a physical copy for myself, and if I would reread this, it would probably be at least a few years in between my last read due to its informational nature, rather than a focus on a reflective nature)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Self harm
Minor: Drug use, Rape, Alcohol
informative
medium-paced
emotional
informative
slow-paced
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
This was FASCINATING. I generally know a lot more about this era of kids pop culture than the average person (I hosted a podcast about it), but I learned SO MUCH about the machinations and minutiae of Disney Channel. I worried that the book would be sensationalized without much substance, but there was no need to. It was extremely well reported, and there were a plethora of sources from across the industry. Mysteries I had wondered about have been solved! Truth-bombs and juicy details abound! But most importantly, Spencer gives this incredibly rich cultural phenomenon its due. So often we disregard media for kids, but those kids grow up to be adults who were shaped by that media. Spencer seems keenly aware of this and compiles the interviews and timeline with a tone of respect and genuine investigation. Really happy I read this, and I want to force it upon everyone who grew up in this era.
informative
fast-paced