It Gets Better... Except When It Gets Worse: And Other Unsolicited Truths I Wish Someone Had Told Me by Nicole Maines

It Gets Better... Except When It Gets Worse: And Other Unsolicited Truths I Wish Someone Had Told Me by Nicole Maines-214 pages

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Nicole Maines played Dreamer on The CW's Supergirl TV series. Here, she writes about her journey as a transgender person growing up in Maine. She endured bullying and ridicule as a child. A male classmate went into the girl's bathroom to stalk her because he felt she was using the wrong bathroom. After that incident, the school Nicole was attending at the time forced her to use a separate bathroom and did nothing when she was bullied. Nicole and her family would later sue that school district and win, but that did little since it was years later and she was attending a different school that accepted her. Nicole also discusses her years on Supergirl, moving to Los Angeles, and her political views (briefly) among other things. This is a really good read, especially in regards to her perspective as a trans woman. 
 

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

 I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jannette McCurdy - 304 pages

A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life. 

Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.

In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarlyspinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.

Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.

This was an eye opening book about what this mother did to her child, for her own idea of fame.  Watching her grow up in iCarly, and Sam and Cat, I now have a different appreciation for her talent 

A Minute To Midnight by David Baldacci

A Minute To Midnight by David Baldacci-418 pages

This is the second installment in the Atlee Pine series.  She is one super tough FBI agent.   While in her old hometown, some horrific murders take place.  She is there with her assistant Carol to try to solve her own family mystery from 30 years ago when she was only six.  She makes some startling discoveries about the parents that she thought she knew.  I HIGHLY recommend any and all of his books.  I cannot wait for the next one.

I Loved Her In The Movies by Robert Wagner with Scott Eyman

I Loved Her In The Movies by Robert Wagner with Scott Eyman, 244 pages

Robert Wagner has written other books but this book is his personal memories of some of Hollywood's most legendary actresses.  You might remember Robert Wagner from the 60's TV show It Takes A Thief and the 1980s TV show Hart to Hart. But, before he stared in television shows, he did star in some earlier movies with some very famous leading ladies.  He writes about his personal interactions with these stars and even earlier stars when he had dated their daughters.  He divides his book by decades, the 30's through the 80's.  He writes about Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, and Glenn Close.  He also writes about his two famous wives the legendary Natalie Wood and his current wife, Jill St. John.

Famous Last Words by Katie Alender

Famous Last Words by Katie Alender  312 pages

Willa is freaking out. It seems like she's seeing things. Like a dead body in her swimming pool. Frantic messages on her walls. A reflection that is not her own. It's almost as if someone -- or something -- is trying to send her a message.

Meanwhile, a killer is stalking Los Angeles -- a killer who reenacts famous movie murder scenes. Could Willa's strange visions have to do with these unsolved murders? Or is she going crazy? And who can she confide in? There's Marnie, her new friend who may not be totally trustworthy. And there's Reed, who's ridiculously handsome and seems to get Willa. There's also Wyatt, who's super smart but unhealthily obsessed with the Hollywood Killer.

All Willa knows is, she has to confront the possible-ghost in her house, or she just might lose her mind . . . or her life.