Customer Reviews

Backstreet Mom: A Mother's Tale of Backstreet Boy AJ McLean's Rise to Fame, Struggle with Addiction, and Ultimate Triumph

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book really is insightful and gives you a real look at the dealings of the music business. It shows you how hard Backstreet Boys worked overseas only to find out they weren't making any money and that a group exactly like them(N SYNC) was being built behind their backs.
It also gives you an insider's look into AJ's problems and addictions and how they first came to be and what lead to them. I would reccommend to this book to everyone especially parents with children who want to be in the music business or those children themselves.

This is not your everyday fan book: it's an amazingly informative tour through the Backstreet Boys' rise to stardom, as well as a been-there-survived-that handbook for parents coping with their children's substance abuse and depression.

Denise McLean doesn't dwell shallowly on her son's favorite foods or cutesy habits as books by some other Backstreet Boy moms and ex-girlfriends have done-- though her "Alex" certainly gets his due, with great stories about AJ's childhood and early career-- but rather the family and musical struggles (and sacrifices!) that shaped both his life and hers.

Even though my enthusiasm for the Backstreet Boys has waned considerably over the years, the book was still highly entertaining, with great anecdotes about the funnier pitfalls of fame. And the pictures throughout the text were excellent, from snapshots of young Alex to candid shots of Denise and AJ to pics of all five of the Backstreet Boys in Europe in the early days.

Denise is obviously a very strong, intelligent woman, and that comes through in her plain-spoken writing style that is sustained throughout the book.

Definately worth a read.

Since I want to become a singer as well as my group, (We're kind of like the Backstreet Boys - just girls) this book helped me realize that not even BSB got it handed to them. They worked their asses off to get to where they are today and deserve every bit of it. They don't get as much credit as they should. And to find out that really they were almost flat broke until they parted from Lou. All that work and they were getting nothing.

It's really just a good book that gives you an inside look at AJ's stuggles, fun times, and how he grew up. I really liked the first couple of chapters when it talked about when he was a a baby and his real father was still around. Awesome read.

Until one of the Backstreet Boys get around to writing their own story is the next best thing. Denise spells it out the music business for you and it's not pretty. BSB worked long and hard overseas, away from their families for over two years only to find out their management was making a carbon copy of them back home(insert Nsync here) It seems for every success there was another locked door in their way. But BSB stuck it out and stuck together through it all.

Denise writes how AJ was not only abandoned by his biological Father, but than by the 2 men he thought of as Father figures. Girlfriend's and so-called friends used him for anything and everything they could. Slowly AJ was sucked into a World where no one could reach him.

The hardest part to read was when Kevin and AJ finally came to blows and Kevin laid it on the line for him. "Get help or you're out of the group."

This is a must have for any BSB fan and also for any parent thinking of letting their kids in the business.

This book is an insightful view into the evolution of one of history's biggest vocal groups, and particularly the effects of their phenomenal fame on member AJ McLean. Because it's written by his mother and with his support, it is not the tabloid garbage that many of these books are. But rather it's an inside look at the ups and downs of the music business, as well as a candid story of one man's struggle with inner demons, addiction, and recovery. A great read for those interested in the industry, as well as those dealing with their own addiction or someone else's.

Focusses a lot more on her and her work for the group than I'd have liked, but overall good.

She provides a no-holds-barred look at Alex's decline as an addict, her own denial of his addictions, his manipulative behaviour (same as any addict's), his rock bottom, and his struggle to recover.

It's a bit unclear if it covers only his first recovery or if it covers his relapse and second recovery as well which is frustrating.

Definitately a must read for any die-hard BSB or Alex Mclean fan though!

This book is fantastic, its a real eye opener, ITS A MUST READ AND IS WELL WORTH THE MONEY!!!!!!!!!1

I love this book! I've actually owned it before but I lost it in the move. This book is amazing. Denise McLean really gives you the entire scoop on not just AJ but also the rest of the guys'. She talks about what it was like for them growing up, what it was like before they were big and now. Things that only a mother know. It's definitely a great book I definitely recommend this.

I am an avid Backstreet Boys fan and have been for many years, so I was naturally interested in reading this book - sepecially when I knew I was about to meet the author (Denise McLean) and her son Alex (AJ). The book is truely inspirational as well as informative and gives an insight to the person (AJ) that fans have never seen. I recommend it for all mothers - especially single mothers - of teens and youth in their 20's who struggle with peer pressure. Dianne Gibbens, Louisiana

I just finished the book, and I must say I loved it. I have since I was 11 been a huge fan of The Backstreet Boys and always liked Alex. This book really gives you anything you ever wanted to know about the boys road to sucess and Alexs life from he was born to he came out of recorvery. Really worth reading.