878 reviews for:

Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire

Ashley Spencer

3.99 AVERAGE

ammmiiiii's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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“To have been a Disney Channel star is to be forever recognized, forever scrutinized. ‘Did you turn out okay? Are you traumatized? Wow, you’re so grown up, I feel old! Say the line! Sing the song! Do the bit!’ At its worst, it’s a parasocial entitlement to a stranger’s life and a stubborn refusal to let them grow up and move on. At its best, it’s a rarified connection, yoking people from disparate backgrounds together around a partly shared nostalgic experience.”

As someone who watched it growing up and eagerly followed all the off set drama, this was a really interesting look behind the curtain of the Disney machine. My only criticism would be that it missed certain other Disney stars such as Bella Thorne and Zendaya, and that it didn’t include more recent updates on their lives. 

stelliwithabookie's review against another edition

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growing up on disney channel, i really enjoyed learning more about this time period. all this book confirmed is how dangerous having children act is. the lack of protection of these young stars while they become superstars overnight is so dangerous. i wish there was more tea about the 2010s era of disney channel. maybe one day.

chelseylawrence's review

4.75

informative lighthearted medium-paced

specialbunny's review

4.0

informative lighthearted fast-paced

rosie_one's review

4.0

informative medium-paced

pageturnermagic_01's review against another edition

informative reflective fast-paced

martinapennetta's review

2.75

informative slow-paced

greatguthsby's review against another edition

5.0

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A must read for anyone who came of age watching Disney Channel between 2000 - 2010. The targeted ad that suggested this to me on Instagram absolutely found the right audience. I listened to this as an audiobook, and it's one of the rare instances where I listened at only 1.5x speed to really savor the text. The audiobook is made all the more meta as it's narrated by Lizzie McGuire star Lalaine. It was a bit surreal to hear of Hillary and Lalaine's on set feud when read by the latter. Just one of the many behind the scenes juicy tidbits I learned while reading. Kudos to Ashley though for not making this a complete tabloid tell-all; it is nuanced and mature in its approach throughout.

Edited to Add on 2nd Reading: Loved this so much we made it our January 2025 Book of the Mouse Club podcast pick. You can find our discussion wherever you listen to podcasts!

marfer20's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

attain8628's review against another edition

4.0

informative lighthearted medium-paced