Rating: 
Summary: obviously the (dirty, all-too-often overlooked) truth
Review: Is it Christina Crawford's intention to impress us with complex wording or a lack of grammatical and spelling errors in her book? Hell no. What does the book do? It puts child abuse in the spotlight and makes it more difficult for us to ignore it. Awareness? Was that her intention? Of course. It may be an ugly truth, but we need to face it and make a societal statement about it. If we maintain our silence or ignore it, we allow it to continue at the same pace. Child abuse should no longer be hidden, tolerated, condoned or accepted. These children will grow up to be part of our society. They will be making our laws and taking care of us when we are in retirement homes.Her story packs a punch. She wrote it in her own words, and with grammatical and spelling errors. So what? She is genuine. (And she grew up in Hollywood, where I HEAR that is a difficult accomplishment.) Her book smacks of reality and makes us wonder how she maintained her composure and how she still manages to function in life. Some victims of child abuse can rise above the nastiness they were dealt and become a better person, and some will never recover. Think of their options: death and survival. If they survive, will they ever overcome the psychological outcome? Christina is even able to inform the public of her abuse, and maintain her dignity, knowing full well she is making herself open to nasty feedback from people who have formed and spewed their opinions before comprehending the issues. (One of the aspects of free speech is that you aren't required present yourself intelligently.) I thoroughly admire Christina Crawford's ability to remain tactful in ludicrous situations. I find it difficult to remain tactful towards a 15-year-old who is lecturing about grammatical and spelling errors when she has 25 or more of her own, not to mention she has no experience to draw upon ("Christina should get over her mother"?). Well, Christina seems to be "over her mother", but she will probably never be "over" the scars left behind. I remember witnessing a lady mugging my grandmother and my great grandmother in a parking lot when I was three or four, and it took years to overcome the fear associated with that ONE incident. Who would expect Christina to come through this situation and remain the normally-functioning person she was beforehand? There are many things which will change people, and inhumane treatment is certainly one of them. It seems this 15-year-old is saying it is acceptable ("totally O.k") to abuse your own child and expect that child to "just get over it". Well, that is wrong. Abuse is illegal where we come from, not to mention morally wrong. Then she progresses with the thought to imply children shouldn't speak of the child abuse, because she believes it is worse to badmouth the person who abused them. Part of the point here is to not allow childrens' silence to protect parents who abuse their children! If children don't say anything, the abuse will continue or they won't be able to "deal with" the psychological problems they WILL have from enduring the abuse. It's not only "O.k" to tell someone, they're SUPPOSED to tell someone! I just wish the results were more effective.
Rating:
Summary: Christina Crawford sheds light on "perfect" hollywood world.
Review: Some of the other reviewers of this novel are wrongfully calling Christina a "cry baby" I don't think that a girl who spent her entire lifetime being abused can be called a "cry baby" Yes the novel contains many grammatical and spelling errors, but all in all it is a wonderful novel that emulates the horrors of family violence. Joan Crawford is a drunken, jealous, and deceitful woman who always got the last word. This novel allows the reader to get the true story behind the oscar winner and form an opinion of their own. I mean, Joan was a multi-millionaire and didnt leave any of the children a cent after her death, so obviously she didnt care about them, and only cared about herself.
Rating: 
Summary: Sickening. This deserves a rating of NOTHING.
Review: Ironically, I have never seen the movie nor read the book. I do not care to do either. Christina Crawford had guts to do that to her foster mother. It took Miss Crawford 60 years to build her career to be an Oscar-winning actress, and Christina could ruin it with a simple book. It's an abomination. To put it frankly, trash.
Rating:
Summary: Book will make you hate someone you've never met
Review: This book was the most heart-wrenching story I have ever read. Half of the people who wrote the other customer reviews focused more on the grammar of the book than they did on the actual story. I, personally, was so into the book, that I hardly noticed the spelling errors. For those of you who do not believe that these things actually happened to Christina, there were actual eye witnesses that saw and heard the beatings going on inside the house. As for "getting over her mother", when you live through such an ordeal as she did, you never forget, and you can never get over them. Just because the book never depicts any of the other chidren being abused,doesn't mean that it didn't happen. She was writing an autobiography of her life, not theirs. Maybe she was afraid of being sued!! Just as she was too afraid of writing this story before her mother died, because she was afraid of what she would do to her if she was still alive! I thought this was a terrible life for a child to have to live and having the courage to speak out about it just goes to show that she has ba--s!
Rating: 
Summary: same ol same ol
Review: The grammer errors in the book are amazing!! I'am fifteen and can clearly see the errors! and another thing this woman really needs to get over her Mother!! I do not totally o.k Joan's actions to her children,but Christina seems to be the only one of four "abused" children to talk about there mother like this to get down to it I presonally think Ms Christina Crawford is an low down dirty chicken!! only after her Mum's death dose she write this and come out and say all this abot her when Joan had no way in hell to stand up for herself! but I'll give this to Christina aside from the ostentatious errors the book is well writen and I hope she finds that love that she is or was looking for.
Rating:
Summary: Cry Baby
Review: I, must agree the book is well writen,but the gramatical errors shocked me!! and I'am a freshman H.S!! but on the other hand I've been studing Christina's work for my phycology class, and I think she really should get over her Mother!and focus on the lawsuit her younger sister is pressing on her![U.S Magazine Dec issue]
Rating: 
Summary: Peculiarly Fascinating
Review: The writing is somewhat disjointed at times, but the aim never is. Fascinating and believable and creepy, it is a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good read, but distracting!
Review: While I was fascinated by the details of Christina's horrific upbringing, I was continually distracted by the editor's horrific job of weeding out the passages that were riddled with errors! Not only was the language slaughtered, but the spelling was an embarrassment. Apparantly, Christina's childhood was so traumatic, she couldn't focus clearly on the mechanics of writing. Her English teachers who have read the book must be mortified. Also, she included details that I found irrelevant to the story; it seems she was using some of her "cute" asides for her own gratification, not the reader's. Still, it was a fascinating study of a woman with money, fame, and power and how it blinded her to the most important treasure of all; family.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling story of the not so glamorous hollywood life
Review: I had read the first edition several years after its first run and had then watched the movie. I was quite as curious to read the added information from the latest anniversary printing. I couldn't put this copy down. I held my breath through the beatings and the verbal lashings and couldn't wait to see how Christina surfaced time and time again. Bravo to her for having the courage to speak out against this horrible problem that so many of us hide behind. Best of luck with the rest of your life, Christina. It sounds like you have certainly come out a far better person than your late "Mom mie".
Rating:
Summary: Drooly Eye-Popping Juicy Page Turner
Review: If you didn't know Joan Crawford, you'll wish you never did. What a @#$%*!!! This book is jammed packed with disgusting, mortifying, hideous memoirs on every page. I couldn't put it down. If you experience trashy glee at reading about stars at their worst, you'll LOOOVE this one.
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