Goodreads Synopsis:
"The star of the hit show Glee shares her experiences and insider tips on beauty, fashion, inner strength, and more in an illustrated book that’s part memoir, part how-to, and part style guide.
Lea Michele is one of the hardest working performers in show business. Whether she’s starring as Rachel Berry on Glee, rocking a glamorous look on the red carpet, recording her solo album, or acting as the spokesperson for L’Oreal, Lea is the ultimate multi-tasker. She knows better than anyone that it is difficult to be your best self and keep things in perspective when your to-do list is overflowing and you are faced with challenges, so she’s developed a foolproof system for remaining healthy and centered. In Brunette Ambition, she reveals the lessons and advice that have worked for her--from beauty and fashion secrets to fitness tips, and career insights. Supplemented with never-before-seen photos and revealing anecdotes, it’s the book Lea wishes she’d had in her teens and early twenties: A practical and inspirational guide to harnessing tenacity and passion and living the fullest life, no matter what obstacles life puts in your way."
Hey there Elementareaders!
I've been a fan of Lea Michele since the beginning of Glee in 2009. She's such a fun and inspiring role model with a killer voice! Since watching her in Glee I went on to look into her Broadway career and came across Spring Awakening which is now one of my favourite musicals and soundtracks of all time.
Needless to say, when I found out that Lea was writing a
book I was excited. I was expecting a standard autobiography, but Lea has
outdone herself by creating a book that is not only about her, but about passing
on all her tips and tricks for a healthy and fit lifestyle, along with beauty
and fashion advice.
In the first couple of chapters Lea talks a bit about her
family, and growing up in New York City. She broke into the Broadway business
at a very young age. Lea doesn't go into much detail about how she got onto
Broadway. Her Broadway début was in 1995 playing alternating roles of Young
Cosette and Young Eponine in Les
Miserables at the very young age of just 8 years old. Lea goes on to write a
few pages about what she learned from each of her experiences on Broadway and
how they helped develop her career and skills as an actress/singer. What I love
about Lea’s style of writing is that she expresses her experiences in a way
that the skills learnt can be applied to everyday life, so are relatable to
almost any job.
I was a little disappointed that Lea only wrote a couple of pages on her experiences in Spring Awakening, as it was such a large part of her life. From initial workshops to the end of her Broadway run, Lea was with the show for 8 years. I would have liked her to have included a bit more about how the workshop process worked before the show ended up on Broadway.
I was a little disappointed that Lea only wrote a couple of pages on her experiences in Spring Awakening, as it was such a large part of her life. From initial workshops to the end of her Broadway run, Lea was with the show for 8 years. I would have liked her to have included a bit more about how the workshop process worked before the show ended up on Broadway.
Lea ends this section of the book with some frequently asked
fan questions which I think is a really great way to impart some advice that
the people reading the book want to hear. Lea does another section like this
near the end of the book too.
In the next section Lea talks about self-care and how
important it is to look after your body. She shares some great tips for
skincare and haircare and even includes some recipes that she uses for relaxing
baths, face masques and hair masques. The great thing about Lea's recipes in
this book is that she uses affordable products that anyone can get hold of
(although she talks about Whole Foods a lot and we don’t have one of those in
the UK!)
I think the next section of the book is possibly my
favourite. Lea talks all about healthy eating and includes a lot of her
favourite recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. One of my resolutions for
this year is to start eating more healthily so I've found this section very
useful. I've tried Lea’s recipe for French-Style Lentil Soup (pictured on the left) and it really is a
delicious meal and something that I wouldn't normally think to make. I'm
definitely going to be trying out more of Lea’s recipes! She’s also added some
great recipes for juices for energy, a meal supplement and de-bloating.
‘Living the Fit Life’ comes next. The thing I love about
this section is that Lea lays out a step-by-step routine for keeping fit that
you can do in your own back yard or living room. The instructions include very
useful photos to show exactly what you should be doing.
The next few sections are fashion and beauty tips. This
isn't something that would normally interest me so much but the way the images
and text are laid out makes it easy and fun to read and I actually found it
very enjoyable. I even picked up some tips on hairstyles and applying make-up.
In the last section Lea talks about the importance of
friendship and staying grounded. She also talks about her experiences with Glee
and the transition from Broadway into television.
This book is a great insight into the life of a young star
and I also think a really useful source for tips on being healthy and staying
fit. I can see myself coming back to this book many times in the future to look
up a recipe or a skincare trick. I wouldn't just recommend ‘Brunette Ambition’
to Lea Michele fans (although they will obviously love it!) but to anyone who
is looking for tips to become a healthier and fitter person both in body and
mind.
I love Lea. And I love this book. I really hope that she writes more in the future.
I would give this book a 5 star rating :)
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