Monday 20 November 2017

Jojo's Guide to the Sweet Life by Jojo Siwa (Amulet)

I think this is only the second foreign language book we've reviewed on the blog. Honestly, if anyone can write a Google Translate algorithm for "Teenspeak" then we'll be all over it...
When "Jojo's Guide to the Sweet Life" arrived, I showed it to Charlotte who uttered a whoop of glee before disappearing with the book.

I had absolutely no idea who Jojo was, other than her cropping up in some of the magazines Charlotte reads - but it was time for my daughter to fully educate me and write this review.

According to Charlotte, Jojo is "Cool! She is so pretty. She has such style! I love her bows!"

I wasn't quite expecting the level of gushing but apparently she's an internet superstar, and rose through the ranks of several 'reality' TV shows to establish herself as a brand, and more importantly a spokesperson against online bullying.

That last point is part of the focus of Jojo's book, and (if I'm brutally honest) one of the reasons we're featuring it on the blog

Whatever your stance on the whole 'celebrity books thing' is, high profile celebrities (particularly those who appeal to tweens and teens directly) doing their bit to address topics such as cyberbullying, feeling better about your own self-image and believing in your abilities / following your dreams is pretty laudable to be honest.

Though I still don't understand the appeal of this quirky character (bows? Has no one honestly ever warn a massive bow on their head before?) I guess the whole point is that I'm not supposed to. Charlotte does though, and she came away from reading the book (which is more or less a photo-rich autobiography of Jojo and her rise to fame) talking about the energy of it, the positive messages in it, and the fact that Jojo still stays true to her pre-fame friends, and is carving out a career in a pretty tough game where today's star books are tomorrow's bargain bin fodder.

"Jojo's Guide to the Sweet Life" by Jojo Siwa is out now, published by Amultet (kindly supplied for review)