Dreams That Glitter: Our Story - Girls Aloud

Ever since I heard Girls Aloud were going to release an autobiography styled book , I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Although priced at £14.99 , I didn't really want to fork out that much cash on something that would probably be down to half price in a month or so. So , I decided I would wait a few weeks before purchasing the book. However as I had been going on about how much I wanted this book for so long , my sister kindly bought it me for Christmas! I was so excited when I unwrapped the gift paper and discovered it! I immediately began reading it and within two or three days , the book was finished! That's how good it was!

For those of you who don't know (if you are one of these people, where on earth have you been over the last six years ?!) are a British girl band who found fame on the British talent show 'Popstars :The Rivals'in 2002. The aim of the show was to find a new girl band and a new boy band. The winning , five girls (Girls Aloud ) and five boys (One True Voice) would then battle against each other , for the Christmas number one! It's funny to think that everyone had thought that it would be the boys who would take the crown , although were left extremely surprised when it was the girls who got the number one!

Ever since then , Girls Aloud have stormed the pop charts with their hit singles and mouth-dropping performances. Although if I'm honest up until a year ago or so , I had always thought of the band as a 'in the background - not really that famous' band. However in the last few months , they have become 'major'. I have a feeling Cheryl's appearance on The X Factor may have something to do with this. Nonetheless , I have become one of their biggest fans.

Back to the book….

Firstly the book is quite heavy and indeed very glamorous. It's obvious that the book is of good quality and should last for a very long time unless of course you do something like drop it in the bath! The cover consists of a large photograph of the band. Each girl is wearing a black dress and look very 'glam'. They are surrounded by 'gold glitter' which feels like glitter when you touch it yet I don't really know what it is that makes it feel like this ; it's like glitter , but it's really smooth and doesn't 'fall apart' like normal glitter would. This photo and glitter is then surrounded with a plain black background. On the bottom of the cover it reads in large white capitals ' Girls Aloud' , followed by 'Dreams The Glitter' in a fancy gold font. Below this it says in small, plain , white capitals 'Our Story'. The back cover also features the same picture of the band. The cover I have described is actually a 'paper' cover , the actual book is plain black.

As I open the book , I am greeted by an introduction which is all about Girls Aloud and they got to where they are today. I wouldn't really call this bit "essential" information because the facts which are featured are facts that I already know. The next couple of pages are either blank or just another page with 'Girls Aloud : Dreams That Glitter' written on them. Over the page are the band's 'thank yous'. I enjoyed reading this section as it shows you how grateful the band are for their fans' constant support. It shows that they know where they come from and know that without their fans , they wouldn't be where they are today.

On the opposite page is the contents page. Each section is divided into chunks. Chapters include 'Girls Under Pressure' and 'Girls In Love.
On the next page is an introduction to the book. Here , the girls describe one of their concerts and how it feels to be up there on stage.
Once I've finished reading this bit , it's now time for the book to get going.

If you've ever wished you were in Girls Aloud ,then you will be interested to hear (or read in this case) that this book informs you of what exactly it feels like to be a part of Girls Aloud. The book begins in the very beginning of this magical journey , telling is how they found out about the PopStars The Rivals auditions , and how they went from stage to stage of the show. I found this part really interesting as I myself have auditioned for shows such as The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent before , and so it shows that even celebrities have had to go through the same-type auditions before they get to where they are!

There is also little sections of the book that are dedicated to each member of the band. For example the Cheryl section will tell us the story from when she was a little girl to now in her own words, and also contains 'quick; facts such as likes and dislikes. I liked reading this part , as I didn't really know the history of the girls before I read this.

One thing which I liked was that rather than the whole band say 'we did this and then we did that' , each girl gets a say on each event that we hear about in the book. I liked how each girl had their own coloured font , which meant it was easier to see when a different girl was 'talking'. However one thing I did find with this method of each girl saying their bit on a subject and then another girl saying their bit on the same subject meant that sometimes the same thing was repeated more than once. For example , this may seem an obvious one ,but when the question 'what is next for Girls Aloud' is brought up , one girl is like 'we're recording an album' then another one will say 'we've just started recording our album' , and so the same thing is repeated about five times ,but in different ways and so it becomes a bit boring. However this is the only criticism of this book I have and luckily it wasn't enough to put me off the whole book altogether.

I admire how honest and down to earth the girls are. Even though they have been doing what they do for over six years they say they still get really excited when they go to awards such as the Brits. Another thing for example , was Cheryl discussing winning awards such as 'hottest woman in Britain' sort of awards , yet unlike Jordan who would be like 'I know I am the hottest woman' kind of attitude , Cheryl is really 'normal' and says things like 'who wouldn't look good with a hair stylist and make up artist' and 'when I got the call to say I'd one , if only they could see me now with no make up'. So my point is , I like how they're not big headed and don't let all the fame go to their heads like a lot of stars do.

One thing which I was surprised at was how easily I could connect with the girls when reading the book. I found it was like reading a friend's diary : I really felt like I knew them. I had expected the girls to be quite bitchy and to gossip about other female celebrities in the book ; how surprised was I to discover that they didn't say a bad word about anyone , apart from Louis Walsh of course (but he had caused it by not helping them out at the beginning of their career!) , although they're quick to say that they don't hold grudges and so are friends with Louis Walsh , which you know is true otherwise I don't think Cheryl would have taken the X Factor job if she didn't get on with Louis and would have to work with him 24/7 , which just proves what nice , honest , down to earth girls they really are. I also admire the true respect they have for each other , and don't say a bad word about one and other.

I was addicted to this book! I just couldn't put it down! I'd begin reading it then Eastenders would start , so I'd put the book down , but within a couple of minutes I was back reading it and couldn't concentrate on anything else. I just loved reading about what it feels like to be in Girls Aloud , and imagining how amazing it must feel to be on such a magical journey as well as having the massive bank balance that comes with it. However , as the girls tells us over and over again ; they have worked extremely hard to get where they are today , which proves hard work really does pay off.

There are many photographs in this book which I found very interesting. The photos date back to 'baby photos' of the girls right up to recent ones. I found it interesting so see how much the girls have changed since their PopStars : The Rivals auditions. They've gone from being normal looking to 'Gorgeous Glamour Dolls'. The girl which I cannot get over how much has changed since the early days is Cheryl : When I look at the photos of her in the earlier days , she is really , really 'tomboyish' wearing sporty clothes and caps , and now she has transformed into this beautiful woman.

The girls give their beauty , health and fitness tips in once chapter of the book. I really enjoyed learning about their 'beauty routines' and 'fitness routines which keep them looking so great. Although I wouldn't really take Sarah's advice and go on a 'treatment course' like she did! It sounded terrible! Although I will be taking on board some of their other beauty tips!

One thing I found when reading this book was because each girl 'says a paragraph' and then another girl says a paragraph , and because each girl has a different accent (Nadine : Irish , Cheryl : Geordie , Kimberly : Northern , Nicole : Liverpool and Sarah : London) when I was reading each girls 'paragraph' I had their different accents in my head and was reading it as though they were actually talking to me.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book , and can honestly say I didn't want it to end. I loved how honest the band are and loved reading about their lives as members of a top pop band.
It's nice to read the information confidently knowing that this is 100% true and not some made up cr*p some journalist has written to fill their page.

I don't think it matters whether you're a fan or not. It really does genuinely make great reading ; it kept me entertained non-stop for a couple of days. I was so gutted when it ended because I could have read it and read it! I read somewhere (not in the book) that they had had to leave out certain things due to their fans being of such a young age. I understand that they are role models to young girls as young as seven or eight , but if I'm honest , I don't think any child of that age would be able to read this book , because….well it's not 'simple' and it makes you wonder , "What could be that bad ?!?!" ; it certainly got me wondering! Hehe!
If a member of the band was ever to leave , I certainly would be auditioning to replace them as Girls Aloud sounds like so much fun!

I strongly recommend this book - you certainly won't be disappointed! Even you are not a fan when you begin reading this book , you certainly will be by the end of it…and feel like you have made five new friends!

Dreams The Glitter available from Play.com £9.99

Thanks For Reading!
January 6th 2009
Xdonzx