Customer Reviews

BILLIE PIPER 2007 calendar

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What prompted me into ordering this book through Amazon was the Season 2 finale of the current Dr. Who series. Billie Piper's performance was astounding to me. Of all the previous seasons of the show and all the previous companions, her farewell with David Tennant was by far the most emotional scene in the show's history where the viewer actually felt empathy with the characters. Her acting and character development throughout the second season drew me into this science fiction series much more than it had in the first season. Note: Am still a Tom Baker and John Pertwee Dr Who fan at heart.

So the question is, how did she become such a good actress? Being an American male not interested in teen music, I completely missed her performance and songs as a British teen music star in the 1990's, though I vaguely remember the top 40 radio stations having her songs competing against an up and coming Britney. This book starts with her very brief childhood and describes the very difficult times trying to balance the family life and expectations of being a pop star touring and performing for months on end.

The personal toll of relationships, loss of privacy and her decline in health is told. After reading her book, what becomes very apparent is how she lost her childhood. She missed the opportunity of being an "average teen", to live life without any worries. The demands of constantly being on tour resulted in the lack of many basic social skills that we take for granted. Simple things such as cooking one's food, driving a car, or being able to relax read a good book (and a fine one this is) did not happen until she was married and was able to distance herself from the demands of being a pop star.

She does frequently mention her insecurity and doubts as a pop singer. She also stated many performances in the UK can be mimed to music, but in the US, it is all live. Unfortunately am not able to discern on youtube if her live UK performances are live or mimed, if I can notice if she is missing the notes as she stated. One thing is noticeable in the youtube videos is she appears to be tense in the performances, not happy and enjoying the moment, just as she described in the book.

She has definitely aged quickly in her life, from helping to take care of her younger siblings and then jumping into the media spotlight with older dancers. She does recognize the stress her star status created on her family and how it separated her from them as she dealt with her personal challenges.

She does mention falling in love and trying to be happy. Her marriage with a popular British DJ allowed her to settle down as a normal person, to further develop her acting skills, and actually be functional in being able to cook, clean, and spend quiet moments at home and not at the pub partying.

But there is a price for her star status, the distance away from the ones she loves and cherish as they live and work their separate careers. This has resulted in the break-up of her personal relationships. But with every break-up, she was able to focus more on her acting, her true passion.

She is not an average person by any means, she was given a special gift and had the fortune to be recognized in an early age. Her family's work ethic made her a determined person to achieve her personal best. Her family and loved ones were able to pick her up after she fell, to give her the strength to continue on despite the uncertainty and insecurity she may have. After reading her book, I understand that it is her life experience that makes her a spectacular performer.

Just looking at her personal photos in the book, one can see how as a child she was happy with the family dog, but later, as a pop star, the spark wasn't there. Later in her wedding photo, the beaming smile of happiness returned. This is the Rose Tyler character in Dr. Who that brought in so many fans. Her acting gave us empathy which we shared in her journey.

I enjoyed reading her autobiography, it showed how she developed and grew as a person, not as a spoiled rich diva living a life of decadence. She was first concerned about being a top performer and star, to make her fans happy. Later she wanted to be happy herself and enjoy the music and performances too, but it never happened, she was empty inside. Finally, she has grown to become the person she is today.

I think that Billie Piper performs today because she is happy and able to share the love with her family and friends. Perhaps this is what matters most to her. All the money in the world didn't buy her happiness or joy. It was the personal time in sharing life with friends and family, away from the spotlight, that makes her happy as a person, just like the rest of us feel in our much simpler (and mundane) lives.

This autobiography by Billie Piper is honest and straight from the heart. My interest started when I saw her on Doctor Who. I can see how Billie Piper makes a good Rose Tyler. Billie Piper shows how real she is and that she is more than just a celebrity. I highly recommend this book for any honest Billie Piper fan.

This book surprised me A LOT. I never knew Billie Piper went through so much (example: anorexia). Also, being American, I never knew QUITE how famous she really was. And is, I guess. It is also a good perspective on just how difficult "fame" is. A girl following her dreams turns into a suffering anorexic, unable to break an addiction. I loved this book, despite the grim details included in this review. I also find it amazing that somebody so young can fill up so many pages about her life!! It just shows how detailed the book is. I highly recommend this book.

You might think there wouldn't be enough for a very young adult to write a huge autobiography about, that's what I thought. But I was wrong! It is full of fascinating details on her life so far. Drugs (and not the kind you might think), anorexia, how she fell into a singing career very early on when her passion is and has always been acting, taking care of young siblings when her mom kinda flaked out, marriage, etc. I bought this book simply because I was a fan of hers from Dr. Who. I was very pleasantly surprised that this is an excellent book.

I come into this with a bias, as I'm a Billie Piper fan (though if you're not, why would you be reading it?), but I enjoyed the book very much. She's often said in interviews that she's more interested in doing good work than in gaining fame, and her story tells you why.

Her story isn't sugarcoated or whitewashed, but she's fair to all parties. In fact, the person who receives the harshest treatment is often the author herself, something you rarely see in this kind of memoir.

The tone is casual but honest, and that's what makes the journey from ambitious youth to manufactured pop star, the fall from grace, and eventual rebirth as both actress and fully actualized person so compelling. The words lift from the page conversationally, not as a carefully crafted PR piece.

From one fan to another, I recommend it.

I bought this book second-hand, looking to better understand the actor who played Rose on the Doctor Who series. I began reading it in an Oregon airport and didn't stop reading until I'd reached Juneau, Alaska. Why was the book so compelling? I guess I just didn't expect an autobiography written by someone so young - famous or not - to be so deep; it was potent heart-wrench.

For anyone entertaining the idea of reading this book, here's the breakdown: As far as fluidity, this book is a pretty easy read. There's a bit of British slang, which for Americans may cause a few pauses in reading. But aside from that, it's pretty easy and flows well. This book is also written as a 5 act play, with the timeline rearranged; act one, for example, starts with Billie as 15 years old, and act two covers Billie's birth, etc. Moreover, while the author is fairly young, and not a writer by trade, she does do a pretty good job creating her perceived world in words.

This book is raw at times. More often, this book inspires genuine hopelessness: as the writer's dealings with anorexia, suicide, death. And yet, other times, this book is desperately romantic with grand gestures, like sports cars filled to the brim with roses. It really is an alloy of emotions.

I write it again: this book is worth a read. And while it's not the best thing I've ever read, I'd recommend it to a friend--especially a true Doctor Who friend.

I bought this book for $.01, too good to be true, yeah? I didnt think much of it since im trying to sell some of my school books and some prices have been pushed down to $.01 by the market; However, the day after i made this purchase, the very next purchase came from across the United States made by a third party. I got a call from my bank saying that my card was being used to purchase $400 worth at Wal Mart. I would suggest caution in your purchase for this seller and others.

On the other hand, good book, i liked it.

This book has been my favorite to date that I have read about Billie Piper. I couldnt hardly put it down and read it from beginning to end in a matter of days.
Billie is a gifted actress that has been through alot in both her personal and professional life. I think we call can relate to that and this books helps you look inside her life and realize she is much like the rest of us. Enjoy ~

I must admit, I bought this book spontaneously out of interest after discovering that this women was behind some awesome hits from 10 years ago like "Day and Night".

I wasn't really expecting much of it, just like a basic autobiography probably really boring as it would just talk about her succes..

But as the title says "Growing Pains" the book definately is not all fairytales but some harsh realities faced. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK SOOO SOOO SOOO MUCHH!! Best autobiography I have ever written.

It felt so real and as the reader you felt like you were on a deeper note with Billie Piper by the stories being and told and the manor in which they were told in. The details were perfect; there was not too much, but not too little.

Everyone please read it whether you like her as an artist or actor or not. Seriously quite an inspirational and intersting story.

This book is in great condition, except for some pictures in the book which had some drawings on it, which I would had rather it didn't have. The book is a page turner, and the writting is great....