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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
Please audiobook this. Listening to JVN tell the story in his own voice was by far one of the greatest adventures of 2019.
JVN has definitely lead an interesting life, which makes for a good read. My primary comment for anyone interested is that it is written exactly the way he talks. This makes it feel more genuine than I think it would otherwise seem, but its jarring as a writing style if you aren't expecting it. My recommendation would be to listen to this in Audiobook form. I wish I had, as I think memoirs are always better when spoken by the author themselves.
I wanted to read something fun and light and this was perfect. I really did enjoy the book and love jvn and everything he stands for. His writing is a little all over the place at times though.
I had put a hold on the audio book about a month and a half ago after discovering that JVN had wrote a book on their insta. I didn't think I could love them more but this book proved me wrong!
To hear them talk about their past with sexual abuse, drugs, and hardships but still have such optimism and hope made me smile. The amount of times I laughed while listening was out of control but there were times I teared up.
I saw some reviews giving low ratings because of the writing but I recommend listening to the audio book as JVN narrates and its perfect. If you enjoy JVN, whether it's on Queer Eye or other platforms I would definitely recommend checking this out! It gives you a peak of who JVN is besides being just the glamorous personality that they are.
To hear them talk about their past with sexual abuse, drugs, and hardships but still have such optimism and hope made me smile. The amount of times I laughed while listening was out of control but there were times I teared up.
I saw some reviews giving low ratings because of the writing but I recommend listening to the audio book as JVN narrates and its perfect. If you enjoy JVN, whether it's on Queer Eye or other platforms I would definitely recommend checking this out! It gives you a peak of who JVN is besides being just the glamorous personality that they are.
Over the Top is not a book I would normally choose to read, as I have never heard of the author and never seen an episode of Queer Eye, old or new. However, I’m going to be guiding an online discussion, so I was planning on skimming it. I ended up reading it, so that says something about the book. It was very easy to read the author's friendly, breezy narrative voice.
This memoir is raw and revealing; also random (a school report on the Bill Clinton sex scandal is published in full?) and repetitive. Readers who know the author’s voice may rate it five stars; as someone who is not invested in the author, I’d say it could have used a good editor to tighten it up a bit. I read the ebook, and I noticed numerous typos.
I did love that the author choose to protect the privacy of people mentioned in the book by replacing their names with Russian aliases. The fact that he grew up in Quincy, not too far from where I live in west central Illinois, also added to my interest.
In the author’s acknowledgments, he thanks his mom first and then his first cat (aw), who “taught me to care for something and I would’ve never been able to survive my twenties without you.”
I had a hard time connecting with the author, since I am not LGBTQ+, never acted out with anonymous sex and unknown drugs, and never struggled with my self-worth the way the author did. However, I will definitely recommend this to people who don’t think they fit in, who are afraid their lives will only get worse, and who would benefit from hearing the author’s take on self-love, self-care, and self-worth. I also liked that he seems to be a super positive person, and although he talks about disturbing things and mistakes that he made, he does so in a positive, reflective way.
“Letting go of that idea that I needed to be normal or that I somehow wasn’t normal just because I needed to prioritize self-care to be healthy is the biggest gift I’ve ever given myself. Being normal is being completely unique, because nobody’s the same. Normal, honey? Who is she, anyway?” (p. 218)
This memoir is raw and revealing; also random (a school report on the Bill Clinton sex scandal is published in full?) and repetitive. Readers who know the author’s voice may rate it five stars; as someone who is not invested in the author, I’d say it could have used a good editor to tighten it up a bit. I read the ebook, and I noticed numerous typos.
I did love that the author choose to protect the privacy of people mentioned in the book by replacing their names with Russian aliases. The fact that he grew up in Quincy, not too far from where I live in west central Illinois, also added to my interest.
In the author’s acknowledgments, he thanks his mom first and then his first cat (aw), who “taught me to care for something and I would’ve never been able to survive my twenties without you.”
I had a hard time connecting with the author, since I am not LGBTQ+, never acted out with anonymous sex and unknown drugs, and never struggled with my self-worth the way the author did. However, I will definitely recommend this to people who don’t think they fit in, who are afraid their lives will only get worse, and who would benefit from hearing the author’s take on self-love, self-care, and self-worth. I also liked that he seems to be a super positive person, and although he talks about disturbing things and mistakes that he made, he does so in a positive, reflective way.
“Letting go of that idea that I needed to be normal or that I somehow wasn’t normal just because I needed to prioritize self-care to be healthy is the biggest gift I’ve ever given myself. Being normal is being completely unique, because nobody’s the same. Normal, honey? Who is she, anyway?” (p. 218)
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Rated 4 stars because the writing is good. JVN’s personality bounces off the page.
As for the story, i’m in awe of his honesty in telling his story — specially the hard parts. I’m proud of him for turning his life around and I’m even more of a fan now after reading his book.
As for the story, i’m in awe of his honesty in telling his story — specially the hard parts. I’m proud of him for turning his life around and I’m even more of a fan now after reading his book.
Ever since the first episode of Queer Eye I watched, I've daydreamed about what it would be like having jvn for a bestie. We'd have sleepovers and talk about self care, living our best lives, overcoming trauma, addiction, figure skating in the 90's, the false gender binary...you get the picture. Oh and there'd be lots of good snacks. This book is probably the closest I'll get to living out that dream. I laughed. I cried. There are some real heavy parts, including trauma, homophobia, bullying, and addiction (among other things), but the way it's written is like listening to an old friend tell you about their life. In the very beginning Jonathan asks if we'd still love them if we knew what they've been through and the things they've done. My answer is I love them even more. Truly an icon of our generation.
I cried so hard....
... Because there is so much in this book that my gay, transmasc who loves nail polish self can identify with. The book needs a trigger warning for CSA, but it is beautiful, authentic, raw in places and full of good advice without intending to dispence it. Thank you JVN for honouring us with your truth.
... Because there is so much in this book that my gay, transmasc who loves nail polish self can identify with. The book needs a trigger warning for CSA, but it is beautiful, authentic, raw in places and full of good advice without intending to dispence it. Thank you JVN for honouring us with your truth.
CW for child sexual abuse, sex work, some drug use, some sex addiction. I liked listening to this book a lot, and hearing about the course of his life, and he did an ok job of acknowledging privilege but it was kind of hard to hear about how many thousands of dollars his family was able to spend on him. Overall definitely recommend!