Becoming Molly-Mae is an autobiography book based on previous Love Island star, Molly-Mae. The book dives into her life and what it was like for her growing up before fame, as well as what it was like for her to be cast and thrown into the deep side of fame.
I really really wanted to love this book. I had been wanting to read it for so long so as soon as I finished my Autobiography of Jennette Mccurdy- 'I'm Glad My Mom Died' (Book Review Here: ) I went straight to order this book. I did think this book was rather expensive, as it retails for £20 on ASOS and £15 on WHSmith, but nonetheless, I went straight to Apple Audio books and purchased it there to listen to for £18, thinking the price would equate to the quality of the text.
Again, I really wanted to like this book. I know Moly-Mae has had a whole lot of stick throughout her career and I personally have always liked her and thought she seems like a really genuine and down-to-earth person, as well as a good role model for younger girls.
This book took me about a week to finish and listen to on Apple Audio Books, but oh my, it was very hard to get into, to begin with. Sadly, I found the writing really repetitive and basic, genuinely to the point I kept finding myself rolling my eyes every time she said the same statements over and over again- here are some of my favourites..
"Things like that"
"I know it sounds cliche"
"When I was younger"
"From a young age"
and particularly, the word "Different"!!!
I know if I wrote a book it most definitely would not be perfect, but as Molly-Mae, one of the biggest influencers in the world surely she could have gotten a somewhat good editor.
Other than the poor body of the text, I just found that after reading the book I did not come out learning anything new about Molly herself, which is what you would have hoped for after spending so many hours reading about someone's life. I found the book very basic and dull, and I found that Molly took usual everyday events and really milked them to make it sound like it was a life lesson for her, such as cutting her hair super short and regretting it and quitting swimming after loving it for such a long time. It genuinely did at times feel like I was reading a book written by a 12-year-old.
You also get a very strong sense from Molly that she does not like speaking of her experience on Love Island and does not want her experience there to define her. I totally understand where she is coming from here in some aspects, but it does come across as though she thinks she is better than the show when in reality, she wouldn't have the job she does today if it wasn't for her being on Love Island. She also refers to it as 'The Island.'
Another thing I personally didn't like about the book, is how much Molly talked about wanting to be 'different' from a very young age, which initially translated across that she was looking down upon those who choose to live a life that doesn’t include wanting to be famous - where she essentially says something along the lines of "I never wanted to live an ‘ordinary’ life, that’s just not for me! But that’s fine if it’s for you. Just not for me!." It’s almost ironic, that anyone who chooses to live a “different” life than her, is something she cannot understand. For her, living life to the fullest and with ‘no regrets’ means having as much fame and success as possible. For me, it’s about spending as much time and making many memories with my friends and my loved ones. This part just doesn't make sense as I don't quite understand what Molly was trying to get across as she talks about when she was younger she wanted to do beauty pageants, wanted to be Instagram famous, wanted to stand out from everyone else- which in my opinion, and a lot of others, does make her look very fame hungry.
There was also a lot of bits in the book that just made me cringe, and seemed a lot just like things that were said to make the book longer and 'fill' it a bit more. Such as, when she attempted to be relatable by detailing some of her “struggles” she faced in her life, which consisted of, “ I wasn’t in the popular group at school, actually I was but not until I was in year nine! Year 7 & 8 I didn’t make the cut!”. When reading it just makes you think surely this isn't being put across as though it was a huge struggle in Molly's life- when in fact this is exactly how it was being put across to the reader.
The last thing I will complain about before getting across the things I actually did like about the book, is the fact Molly explains in her book that she felt the need to 'make a change' as she had put on too much weight and is now a size 10 instead of a size 6. I know when she explains this she probably didn't mean it to come across the way it did, as she does say there is nothing wrong with being a size 10- but to the many young girls reading this book that are a size 10 or above, they will be thinking if there is nothing wrong with being that size, then why change it? Molly also mentions that she got told a lot she was 'losing herself' during this time of putting on weight and her family started to tell her she should start back exercising again- as they 'knew how much she used to love it'- this just didn't really sit right with me, and I just don't think this is the best standard to be setting for younger readers.
Okay, now to the things I did like about the book. I really do admire Molly's honesty throughout certain sections of the book, such as when she speaks about her endemetriosis journey. Whether you like Molly or not, which I still do after reading this book, you can't say this is not very brave and admirable for her to speak out about this topic and inform others of what it is, spreading awareness.
I also really love the fact Molly speaks about her bad experiences with filler in the book, I really commend this and think this is a great move from her and appreciate her talking about this topic is due to the fact she is a very successful influencer and has millions of people who look up to her. By her sharing her complications with filler, she could influence a reader to make sure they are 100% sure they want to go through with the procedure so that they don’t potentially make the same mistakes Molly-Mae did. I also think by her speaking out about her getting all her filler removed, will influence girls to stop getting filler and putting their faces in danger and follow in Molly's footsteps.
Overall, I think this book was more of a really overdrawn magazine interview, and that Molly could have benefited from waiting a few more years and getting a bit more life experience before releasing it. I also feel Molly could have delved deeper into her life and told us the really dark secrets she talked about keeping with her sister, rather than just speaking about not being the most popular in high school. I still really like Molly-Mae and think she has lovely qualities that I would want in a friend, including kindness and thoughtfulness. I’m just not convinced she has lived a life fully enough for a memoir - ironic when this appears to be her biggest goal.