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A review by bookstorian
Finding My Bella Vita: A Story of Family, Food, Fame and Working Out Who You Are by Pia Miranda
3.5
I was instantly intrigued when I saw this title appear in Hachette's Publicity Magazine and hoped that I would receive a copy. I was in luck! I also purchased a copy from LibroFM and I do often prefer to read Memoirs via an audio book and so a quickly consumed this read changing between audio and physical.
Best known for her role as Josie in Looking for Alibrandi Pia Miranda reflects back on how playing Josie was only a small, but significant part of who she is today. Told in a chronological order, even dating back to her grandparents lives in pre-war Sicily, Pia honestly shares stories from her childhood to her adulthood years.
Whilst this read was certainly an easy one to be swept away with, there were a number of key moments that I enjoyed reading/listening, including her experience as a child and adolescent at various dance studios and her experience of auditioning and playing the role of Josie. To be honest, this is why I initially wanted to read the book. What was unexpected was my appreciation for Pia's reflections on the impact of social media (post-Survivor) and her thoughts on just how precious our time is with our grandparents. The epilogue was also a beautiful touch.
Overall, I felt like a lot of the memoir only skimmed the surface on her life experiences with Survivor taking the front seat of the memoir. I would have liked more 'behind the scenes' anecdotes and also to have learnt what she is doing now.
Overall I did enjoy this read and would recommend it to you if you also enjoy memoirs, especially ones about family, culture and identity.
Similar to Stanley Tucci's Italy
Thank you to Hachette Australia for my gifted copy.
Best known for her role as Josie in Looking for Alibrandi Pia Miranda reflects back on how playing Josie was only a small, but significant part of who she is today. Told in a chronological order, even dating back to her grandparents lives in pre-war Sicily, Pia honestly shares stories from her childhood to her adulthood years.
Whilst this read was certainly an easy one to be swept away with, there were a number of key moments that I enjoyed reading/listening, including her experience as a child and adolescent at various dance studios and her experience of auditioning and playing the role of Josie. To be honest, this is why I initially wanted to read the book. What was unexpected was my appreciation for Pia's reflections on the impact of social media (post-Survivor) and her thoughts on just how precious our time is with our grandparents. The epilogue was also a beautiful touch.
Overall, I felt like a lot of the memoir only skimmed the surface on her life experiences with Survivor taking the front seat of the memoir. I would have liked more 'behind the scenes' anecdotes and also to have learnt what she is doing now.
Overall I did enjoy this read and would recommend it to you if you also enjoy memoirs, especially ones about family, culture and identity.
Similar to Stanley Tucci's Italy
Thank you to Hachette Australia for my gifted copy.