juliajjshields 's review for:

The Half of It by Madison Beer

2.0

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lemme start by saying, I’m neutral towards Beer. I was drawn to her memoir bc I’ve seen her throughout the years, remember her rise to fame & was curious what she’d learned/been through as someone my age who grew up in the industry…while there were nice lil nuggets like “can’t hate yourself into being the person you want to be,” journal prompts for reflection, & some vulnerability, it still didn’t share much of her experience & was less of a memoir than it was a manifesto against cyber bullying & therapy 101 (ie tips for self acceptance, inner child, etc.) It felt very preach-y and real stories of her experience were few and far between + repetitive. It was nice listening via audiobook as it was short & Beer narrates it herself…but the writing felt like something straight out of a journal. Not well done and lackluster. I was looking forward to hearing about her path to LA & what that must’ve been like but it legit was just two lines before moving forward. I understand keeping a level of privacy but if it’s to share without any depth, it shouldn’t be titled a memoir? I don’t know…2 stars rather than 1 because I did learn some things about her story & appreciated the way this book will probably resonate with younger audiences, teaching them important things about mental health that they may not already know. Definitely think it should’ve been marketed that way as Madison on mental health or something idk…in terms of a memoir definitely a 2/5 & wouldn’t recommend to anyone who is curious like I was. Certainly a book for those already part of her audience & probably 16 & under.