The Book
At the beginning, I was excited because it sounded like this was going to be a pretty well thought book. For example, I was impressed with McCain's claims that the Republican Party had gone too far to the right and moderates like her weren't welcome anymore, but then she makes tons of absolute statements throughout the book, and contradicts herself constantly. It's hard not to be critical.
The writing is very simplistic, and it feels that there was no editing involved. For example, she uses "so" way too much, and incorrectly. The repetitions are cringe-inducing and it makes the whole thing look amateurish.
McCain tries to make the case of what a poor victim she was, even though she says that she didn't need to be in the campaign bus, and that she could have lived in one of her dad's houses hanging out with her friends to no end. She is mad and offended that her dad's people were not extremely supportive of her blog, even though she admits that at the end the blog didn't make much of a difference. And then she is mad and offended that people dared to say bad things of the blog. What I see as highly hypocritical is that she says of Bush's daughter, Jenna, something along the lines of "I'm sorry I'm saying this, but if you don't want to be talked about, then don't put yourself in the lime light." Then why does she get so offended if she goes and puts herself out there and people dare criticize her? She admits to stealing Juliani's signs before the primary in Iowa, but then whines that Obama supporters flash their signs in her face after they won the general election. And the drama. My gosh, the drama!
McCain recounts the experience of sobbing uncontrollably after her parents refused to let her know who the VP candidate was. In her own words:
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Yup. That's right. She was so devastated she couldn't wash her hair before appearing on national TV. By the way, remember that this is her choice. She could be hanging out with her friends at home at this point, leaching her parents for all they're worth. I know, maybe I'm way harsh, but it's hard not to consider her a spoiled brat after reading this thing.
The Audio Production
I think the book would be more enjoyable if it wasn't for McCain's reading. I'm sure she's a very smart girl, but here she sounds like the stereotypical dumb blonde. The reading feels too rushed, like they needed to fit the whole book in a four hour file, so she doesn't stop to show much emotion. There's a part where she talks about how Bush's people trashed John McCain saying that she had a "negro" child. The child they were referring to is his adopted daughter, Bridget. When Bridget turned 16, she googled herself and read for the first time all the nasty things that had been said about her. "Does president Bush hate me?" she asked Meghan. It's sad that a child has to go through things like this when she hasn't done anything at all to deserve it. After all, my son is adopted, and I would be furious if somebody made him feel bad because he doesn't look like me. Unfortunately, Meghan's mournful reflections regarding the subject sound like this:
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Or what about her reaction to her dad losing:
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The production is so poor, that this is the only audiobook I've ever heard where you can hear the pages turning!
But besides the hypocrisy, the pathetic drama and the poor writing, this book is entertaining. And short. And she makes good points at the beginning.
By the way, I think that the "Sexy" in the title is just a gimmick to sell. There's no sexiness in the book, except for her admission that she is no celibate.
