A Book Review | Just Between Us by Mario Lopez

Pages: 272
Rating:3/5

For Christmas I received Mario Lopez's autobiography "Just Between Us" and this month I finished it and therefor wanted to review it. Firstly I'll start off by saying I'm a huge fan of Mario and Saved By The Bell and he even replied to my tweet on twitter! Major fangirl moment. 

I found this book to be a very quick read and it was nice to read an autobiography that was so recently written.

Mario's book follows him from growing up in southern California to being on Saved By The Bell and then to the present day and having his two children. 

I found it interesting to read about how Mario was expected to die as a baby yet his dad took him to Mexico to see a witch doctor and subsequently survived defying doctors opinions. It was intriguing to read about such an experience and how sometimes out of the ordinary remedies can work.

I found that Mario was extremely open about his life which I find admirable and shows that he was really willing to put everything into this book. Two events in particular show this the first being when Mario got a girl pregnant at quite a young age. Even though he knew they were probably too young to have a child Mario was willing to stop his acting jobs and get a "proper job" to help support this girl and their baby. He knew either way that it was the girls decision to abort the baby or not and he was about to fully stand behind her whatever her decision, (Spoiler she had it aborted). The second event was when Mario invested $60k into a bar business in Mexico that eventually was unsuccessful and a waste of money. However despite these two things happening Mario has always taken responsibility for his actions and he seems very down earth because of it. 

One part of Mario's life that I did want to hear more about was his time on Saved By The Bell. I was intrigued to find out about the shows schedule (which we did) but also about the cast dynamics and the gossip that went on around set. We did hear a little about what Mario thought of his cast mates and lifelong friends however we of course can't ask for more than what he has written. 

I found myself enjoying the book more towards the end when the events he were talking about were more recent including his time on Extra, interviewing celebrities and meeting his future wife. In particular it was interesting to read about the struggle they faced to have their children and how happy he seems to now be a father.

Overall I gave this book 3/5 stars on my Goodreads page which you can see here. I found it one of the better autobiography's to read and is a nice light read. Like I said I would of liked to hear more about his time on SBTB and all the gossip from his interviews but it was also nice to hear how he got to that stage in his life and how he still values his Mexican roots.

That's all for today's post so until next time pick up a book and read! Sophie x

Christmas Book Haul.

Last year I asked for a shed load of books for Christmas and this year was no exception. 

I received 11 books in total and read 3 before the week was over. I rated these three over on my Goodreads page which you can see here.

1. Annexed by Sharon Dogar: This is the most recent book that I've finished and I loved it! Dogar took Anne Frank's story and wrote the events from the perspective of Peter Van Pels( who lived with his family also in the Annexe). I found it fascinating to have another point of view of their time and what it could of been like for Peter. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads and would recommend it to anyone that likes non/fiction books on the Holocaust. 

2. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen: This is another book that I've already read and again it was a good, quick read. It is about a Jewish girl called Hannah who is fed up with Passover and bored by hearing her Grandpa go on about the Holocaust. However when Hannah opens the door as a Passover ritual she is transported to the 1940's and faces the Nazi's for herself. It really reminded me why we should never forget the atrocities that happened. 

3. City Of Women by David Gillham: So i'm not quite sure what this is about except that the protagonist is a german soldiers wife who still has feelings for her former lover who is a Jew. This sounds like a really interesting plot line and I hope to read this book next. 

4. Alicia by Alicia Appleman-Jurman: This Memoir is about a 13 year old girl who lost all of her family to the Nazi's but then goes on to save the lives of thousands of Jews. It's gotten really good reviews on Goodreads so I expect I will enjoy it. 

5. Heads In Beds by Jacob Tomsky: This book is about Tomsky's journey through the hotel system from being a car valet to managing a department. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads as I wanted to hear more juicier stories of what goes on behind the scenes. 

6. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert: Somehow I managed to stumble across this book and really don't know much about it but I was really interested to read about Hawaii. It is about a young girl who is taken away from her family and sent to a isolated leprosy settlement.

7. The World According To Gogglebox by Jazon Hazeley: This was the first book I read and finished it on Christmas night! If you live in the UK you will know of the show Gogglebox where we go into families homes and watch them react to the weeks t.v programmes. In the States and Canada there's a version of it called "The people's couch". The book contains interviews with the family from how they met to what's their favourite shows to watch. There are some great cartoons included as well! Its a great coffee table book and I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.

8. Girl Online by Zoe Sugg: Its no surprise that this was probably on most teenage girls Christmas lists this year. To be honest I have not much of an idea of whats its about except for the protagonist is a girl with a blog who has a love interest. I have no expectations going into this book so I hope to be pleasantly surprised. 

9. Just Between Us by Mario Lopez: I have been a massive fan of Mario Lopez since he played AC Slater on "Saved By The Bell", therefore I was really excited to see he had written a book. I actually tween Mario a picture of my book saying I can't wait to read it and he actually tweeted me back! I was astounded that he did so.

10. The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Sarah Rees Brennan: I'm a big fan of Cassandra Clare's work but I have to admit that i've never heard of the other two authors. I love the shadow hunter world and can't wait to be submerged into it again.  

11. Funny Girl by Nick Hornby: As soon as I read the blurb for this book I knew I had to read it! It contained the words "Lucille Ball" and "I Love Lucy", I was sold. Its about a woman in the 1960's Britain who really admires Lucille for paving the way for female comedians and she wants to follow in her footsteps. 

So theres the 11 books I received for Christmas so look out for some book reviews coming soon!

Sophie.