May 15, 2017
For Osbourne (Fierce), there are no secrets to living one’s life other than being comfortable with oneself and, perhaps more importantly, being a badass when warranted. Osbourne, eager to both come out from under her famous parents’ shadows (her father is Ozzy Osbourne) and celebrate her nontraditional upbringing, structures this mostly successful and often powerful memoir in the form of letters to her parents, her inner filter (or lack thereof), and drug addictions. Fans wondering what it was like to grow up the daughter of heavy metal royalty should look elsewhere for sordid stories. This isn’t a tell-all. Osbourne is candid about her father’s addictions and the fact that she loves him in spite of it, and her terror over possibly losing her mother, Sharon, to cancer is palpable. Her trademark humor and coarse language are always in evidence, even when she’s discussing the bleakest of subjects, and this approach transforms what could have been just another celebrity story into something much more triumphant. Osbourne isn’t perfect and she isn’t trying to be; instead, she’s honest about her faults and victories, something much more difficult to pull off.
March 15, 2017
The TV personality and fashion designer addresses different aspects of her life through a series of letters.Calling the writing of her new book -one of the most intense forms of therapy I have ever experienced,- Osbourne (Fierce, 2009), in her latest, covers a wide array of personal opinion and history. Headstrong and unabashed, the author displays the same steely resolve in her writing, and she notes that letters were, during a particularly dark time, the only communication she'd had with family and friends. Osbourne opens with a missive to her inner filter, the one that has failed and seemingly sabotaged her from Day 1. She then moves through the pains of being a celebrity's kid and thoughtful appreciations of friends, her mother, Sharon, overprotective father, Ozzy, and brother, Jack. An especially tender section on Osbourne's long, fond friendship with Joan Rivers is nicely juxtaposed with memories of Ozzfest (her -sleepaway camp-) and harrowing chapters on bullying and a full disclosure on how she lives with Lyme disease. The author regrets the -innocent- decision to participate in MTV's The Osbournes, which thrust the author -completely unprepared- into the celebrity spotlight only to be subjected to the cruel scrutiny of social media. Osbourne is mostly successful in balancing her infrequent triumphs and stumbling blocks like drug addiction and weight and self-esteem issues, which should prove empowering for younger readers. Eventually, despite a cautionary warning, nonfans may tire of the barrage of defensive expletives, which may seem necessary for an Osbourne book but become tedious. Still, readers who adore the unadulterated Osbourne will devour her amusing and sometimes-scandalous anecdotes and applicable advice on life, fashion, and self-acceptance. -I am living proof that with the right intentions, hard work, passion, and love for what you do, nothing can stop you,- she writes. A breezy, well-intentioned memoir for Osbourne fans.
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March 15, 2017
Former wild child Osbourne, who grew up in the public eye after her family's MTV reality show, The Osbournes, became a huge hit in 2002, chronicles the ups and downs of her youth in a series of letters addressed to family and friends as well as to such entities as fashion, dating, and bullying. The Osbournes made her a star in her teens, but after it ended, she battled drug addition and weight issues before finding success as an E! Fashion Police cohost and a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Osbourne observes that her transformation from a teen struggling with drugs and body image issues to a confident and successful young woman took years, but that the transformation seemed swift to outsiders because people only pick up on your journey when you arrive at your destination. With frank discussions about drug use, image, sex, and bullying, Osbourne's candid and engaging memoir will have special appeal to teens and young women facing similar struggles, and every reader will find her hard-won confidence and sobriety inspiring.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)
November 15, 2016
Daughter of heavy metal king Ozzy Osbourne, familiar to many from her family's eponymous reality TV show, and an actress, singer-songwriter, and television and fashion personality in her own right, Osbourne is here to explain that there is no secret to her glide from self-styled ugly duckling to lavender-haired swan.
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.