Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family
Amy Ellis Nutt
ISBN: 9780812995411
Read August 21
The only downside to this book is that while it's about Nicole and her journey, the majority of the book is told from the perspectives of her relatives: her mother and father, and her identical twin brother. I found that less disturbing during the narration of their early lives, but once Nicole was into the 5th grade, it was odd to read snippets from her journal, but have the bulk of the narrative driven by the experiences of her parents, or from case-notes from a therapist. I really didn't feel like I ever got to hear Nicole's story, just the story of her family. Which, ok, that's the title, I know. But I somehow thought it would be both. I was interested to see how her family developed and coped (especially her dad, who was portrayed as sensitively as possible, but was still massively hung-up on his ideals and his pre-determined thoughts about what was appropriate for a really long-ass time) and her brother, who had what seems like a fairly normal bout of teenaged/college "what is life really all about" slump, made worse by all the attention paid to his suddenly-famous sibling.
Regardless, it was a very moving and interesting story, and I still hope that perhaps Nicole will take some time from college and theatre to work with another ghostwriter and tell HER version of the story we got here. I'd love to hear her words.
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