Through My Eyes - Cheryl Cole > Reviews (4)

When I heard Cheryl Cole was to release an autobiography, I was over the moon. She's one of those people I'd love nothing more than to conduct an hour long interview with - there are so many questions I'd like to ask her, so much I want to know! Needless to say, I can't exactly see that happening any time soon, so I figured the autobiography would perhaps provide me with answers to some of the questions I'd like to ask. I'd even planned to go to her book-signing, but my traveling to London fell through at the last minute (my fault, granted) and that never happened. Never mind Amy, you can still buy it straight away...

Wrong! As with Ms Cole's second debut album since her split from Girls Aloud, I was 'forbidden' from buying the book as 'Santa' might just bring me it. So every time I walked into HMV, or into WHSmith, I had to avert my eyes from temptation, unable to purchase the longed for book. Thankfully, Christmas day came (and went) rather quickly, and I can now confirm that I am the proud owner of Cheryl Cole: Through My Eyes.

The first thing you'll notice is the fact that the shape of this book is not that of your standard, typical autobiography. It's a lot larger, which was quite surprising. The cover of it is gorgeous though, with a close up shot of Cheryl in black and white. Across her forehead and lapping over her hair, her name is written in a beautiful italyic font, the title of the book in basic print below. It's quite a sophisticated look, compared to say the image Girls Aloud had with their albums and even their 'autobiography' collection, so I was quite keen to see if the style was carried out throughout the book

Given the size of the book, it is actually quite thick too. With 255 pages, I figured it would take me quite a long time to read it, so I set myself nice and early in the evening to make sure I could get a good way into the book before my eyes started to close on my as tiredness took hold. I am quite surprised to say now that I finished it in one sitting. Was this because it was so insightful and gripping? No. No, it wasn't.

I'm not saying the book was dull, and I'm not saying at all that it was a disappointment. It simply wasn't what I was expecting. I have to use the term 'autobiography' lightly. It's more of a collection of memoirs, and even those are quite small! Each chapter takes us through her life in the form of photographs, with Cheryl telling us a little about the photo and what the event meant to her. It covers a wide variety of occasions over the last year or so, since the launch of her debut solo single, 'Fight for this Love'. There are ten sections in total: Introduction, Music, X Factor, The Brits, Charity, Cover Shoots, On Tour, Style, The Fast Lane and End Notes.

The thing with Cheryl is that she doesn't do that many magazine interviews, and you will rarely see her on any television show being grilled by a TV host. We know of her latest happenings through papparazi shoots and 'word of mouth', nothing is ever for certain.

Thankfully, this book does reveal a lot of what actually happened compared to how her story was portrayed in the media, which is a relief to find out! Each section is rather interesting, I cannot deny it, but I do have my favourites. I particularly found the 'Music' section great, especially the first part. The photographs of the 'Fight For This Love' video shoot are so inspirational, and Cheryl's 'commentary' to go with it is an interesting read. The X Factor chapter is an enjoyable read too, and gives us a lot of inside information as to how it actually works, how long the judges spend in the house etc. You also learn a little about the other judges too, which is a nice little bonus. The Cover Shoot section photographs are gorgeous, and of course the text aside it is a pleasant read too. The Fast Lane is quite scary if I'm honest, as Cheryl talks about the fears of the papparazi. I truly welled up when I read it - it must be so scary to walk out of somewhere normal, and have loads of large bulky men pointing their large cameras in your face and shouting your name, demanding your attention. That's the price you have to pay to live life in the star light, but it's still not going to be nice!

As previously mentioned, the main focus in this book is the photographs, and their little stories. It sounds a little narcissistic, but I promise you it isn't! In total, there are 156 photos, all of different sizes. Some take up an entire double page, some a single page. Others are 6x4, and some are quite small and bunched together. There's a really great variety there too, which is lovely. Cheryl actually says in the book that she doesn't quite know what she looks like now as she looks different in every photo. She's right - no two images are the same. Try and picture her - can you conjure up a 'basic' image?

Everything in this light read is great, and I found that it was only missing one thing. She doesn't mention her Anorexia, which I was really hoping for some anecdotes on. Okay so Cheryl would probably argue at this point that she never suffered from an Eating Disorder, always pointing out during X Factor 2009 that she does eat, and even showing us shots of her tucking into egg and chips. Well, Cheryl dear, say what you will. I'm sticking by my ground! Maybe one day I'll discover the truth, but until then...

The book is priced at around £10, give or take depending on where you go. It is widely available at the moment, and can be found in book stores such as WHSmith and Waterstones, in the autobiography section. HMV and Play.com also sell it, as does Amazon.co.uk. So would I recommend it? Yes, I absolutely would. It's great for any fan of Cheryl like myself. However, just don't expect a gripping and in depth account of her life, as you'll be greatly disappointed! Other than that though, it's top notch and definitely worth a read!

Amy 2011