Book: Miles to Go
Author: Miley Cyrus
Pages: 272
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Reviewed by: Amanda
Amazon.com Price: $16.47
Purchase: Here

Sixteen years old seems a little young to be penning your autobiography, but Miley Cyrus is not the average sixteen-year-old. The title of the book lets the readers know that she is well aware of her age. With a hit television series, albums, and feature films under her belt, she knows she can accomplish even more. In interviews to promote her work, Miley revealed that she wanted to write the book because she wanted fans, and even those who despise her, to understand her side of the story. Tabloids and reporters are able to twist words from interviews to make an audience believe whatever the magazine wants them to believe. Miley decided to write the book so that people would have a window into who she really is, not who the media would have you believe she is.

When I sat down to review her book, I felt a little awkward. I’m used to discussing what I like about characters or plot points, but to do that to Miley would just be mean. I can’t analyze the story and say who was my favorite character or which parts of the book I wished were different. This is no work of fiction. This is her life, or at least a few chapters out of it. Looking back on the book, I find myself having to focus on the way the book was written. It is undeniably all Miley Cyrus. It is honest, a little sarcastic, and completely all over the place. And those are all good things.

When you open the book and start to read, it doesn’t feel like a biography you would find in a reference section of the library. You know what I mean. Those are stale, obviously written by a professional, and everything from the person’s first steps to their first public appearance is chronicled, and they all end with a date of death. This is neither stale nor bogged down by the things a professional would want to include. Miley starts her story in what she considers to be the pivotal moment in her life: right before the world came to know her as Hannah Montana. Actually, she starts her story talking about her hands, which I found to be really interesting, but I’ll leave that for you to discover on your own. She recounts being bullied in school, losing her grandfather, growing up in a close family, her first love, and her big break. All things that people want to read about. But she does it her way.

I love the little notes included in the margins, like side notes in a conversation before you get back to the main point. Scribbled to the side of an admission that her mother was right about something will be the words, “but don’t tell mom I said that.“ I also love the breaks in the middle of the story telling with “seven things” lists: seven artists she admires, seven places she wants to go, seven things she wants to be when she grows up, etc. It adds interesting facets to her personality that you might not otherwise find out. Another thing I love is that sections of the type stand out, whether they are bolded or shadowed, and each of these are important. They are the points Miley tries to make, and she makes them well.

Some of the chapters go into incredible detail, others are only a few paragraphs long. Normally, something like that would bother me, at least it would in a work of fiction. In a fictional story that would seem to interrupt the flow. But here, it is a reflection of Miley’s personality. She bounces back and forth between topics. Shorter sections might be brought up again later, sparked by another topic, or they might not. She even admits that some of the smaller sections are there simply because she felt it was important, not necessarily because she had a lot to say on the topic. There might not be a long and involved story for some of these segments, but each of these seemingly unrelated tales make up a part of who she is.

All of the things that Miley does with her biography work really well. You feel like you have a glimpse into a journal, or maybe it’s a letter, written specifically to you. I feel like it would be naïve of me to say that by reading this I got to know her better, because the book only provides a small snap shot into who she is. I do, however, feel like I understand her a little better, and I respect her a lot more. If she wants to write a book every decade providing another glimpse into the life she leads, I will definitely be one of the first in line to read it.

Review #2 by Ana
Rating: 10/10

When the news was released that Miley was going to release an autobiography, I thought it was insane! What could a 16-year-old write about? But I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did I enjoy reading it, but I even learned something. Yes, from a 16 year old celebrity.

In Miles to Go Miley shows who she really is and not who the media says she is, which is, to everyone's surprise, more than just a spoiled celebrity.

When you read a book you expect it to have great characters and story lines. With a biography it’s not about that. You don’t remark, for example, that you love Billy Ray Cyrus’ character because he’s not a character. Miley is not a writer (the book was written by a ghost writer) but this book is well written, kind of like a diary, which makes you feel like she's talking to you, like she's your friend. That's something that keeps you interested in the book. Of course, if you're not a Miley fan you shouldn’t waste your time.

I can't think of one thing I disliked about this book cause it's so genuine. So let’s start with all the things I liked.

The book starts with Miley talking about her hands. I thought that was totally random but I found out something I didn't know; I like the way Billy Ray Cyrus thinks. Not because he thinks that left handed people see the world differently, but because of what all those combination of words mean.

After that original introduction, Miley starts her book, not with her date of birth, but with what she thinks was the worst time of her life, the time when she started to be bullied by her so called friends, and the time when she first tried cheerleading. Those pages are great, they help us understand, even if we're not psychologists, why she doesn’t care about what people say about her, why she has such a thick skin, a skin she didn’t have when she was young. After all, who had it at that age?

Throughout the book Miley talks about a lot of things: auditions, her fish, the death of her grandfather, going to her first premier unnoticed, Nick Jonas aka. Prince Charming (even though she doesn’t give much of an insight in that particular subject, but I understand that's not our business!), and her friendship with Mandy. But what I really loved about this book was the story of Vanessa, Miley's BFF who had cancer. Don’t think that I enjoy reading about sick people, I just love the way Miley makes her readers connect with her story; how she became BFFs with a girl she barely knew and you actually feel really bad, like she was your friend too, when Miley said she died. I love how in just a few pages, Miley makes us see how easy our lives are and how we don’t appreciate all we've got. Another thing I loved was the ‘7 things I...’ lists she made. ‘7 things my pappy used to say’, ‘7 people I want to work with’, ‘7 people I couldn’t leave without’, etc. Some of the things she writes in those lists are pretty obvious (You can’t live without Mandy. SHOCKER!!) but the ones that are not are the ones that make her book interesting.

Everything about this book is amazing. Miley really lets us know the highs and lows of show business, the never ending co-star rivalry, the meaning of a true friend, and much more. If you buy this book you won’t be disappointed. You won’t get to know Miley completely but you'll get a glimpse of her life and the person behind the celebrity!