Voluminous in title and content, Living the Dream: Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus – The Unofficial Story is your one-stop source of information for the young superstar… well, at least until April 2008.  As with any ongoing career, any attempt at a biography is going to become instantly dated, and this book is no exception.  Still, it is a rather thorough examination of all aspects of Miley’s rise to public consciousness as the student-by-day/rock-star-by-night character on the Disney Channel’s hit television show.

The Real Miley details her story from birth, ably explaining the complicated lineage of her family, through participation in competitive cheerleading, to her first flirtations with acting. The World of Hannah Montana gathers comments from the show’s creator Michael Poryes and executive producer Steve Peterman explaining how the show was conceived and the formula for its success. They continue in the section One in a Million describing the long courtship of Miley that led to her casting in the lead role.

Educational bios of the cast follow, with shorter (really, only a long paragraph) ones for the reoccurring roles of Amber (Shanica Knowles), Ashley Dewitt (Anna Maria Perez), Rico (Moises Arias), and Jake Ryan (Cody Linley). Billy Ray Cyrus: Robby Stewart tells of his decision to accept the role of Miley’s father on Hannah Montana, then back to his beginnings through “Achy Breaky Heart” stardom to his relationship with his daughter. Photos include hanging with the cast of Doc, playing guitar onstage in full mullet, and shufflin’ feet on Dancing With the Stars. Emily Osment: Lilly Truscott reveals that acting was an afterthought despite having an Oscar-nominated older brother, then its on to her first feature film roles in “Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams” and “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over” and dealing with the popularity brought on by Hannah Montana. Photos include a nice family photo with Mom and Dad and Haley Joel, and a scene of her as a Goth girl in “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It.” Mitchel Musso: Oliver Oken recounts his relative ease in breaking in as an actor, to his budding music career starting with a cover of Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” for “Snow Buddies” (which has since appeared on the album Radio Disney Jams 10). Jason Earles: Jackson Stewart is not clear about his date of birth — and therefore his age — but is otherwise straightforward in laying out his acting résumé including impressing producers of Hannah Montana by being able to make a ventriloquist dummy funny. Included is the only photo I’ve been seen of his wife, Jennifer, posing with her husband on the red carpet at the 2007 Emmy Awards.

Creating a Family has Poryes and Peterman reflecting on the evolution of the show from pilot to successful series once the cast came together, and includes anecdotes of pratfall and camaraderie with the best being how Jason back off the guy guest stars from the flirtatious Miley.  This is the Life: The Hannah Phenomenon Begins notes that the show was a ratings hit from the get-go, describes adventures in fandom, and investigates how each cast member has dealt with the ensuing fame.

She Might Even Be a Rock Star maps the grooming by the Walt Disney Company into a career in music by their flowering star, leading to the chart-topping success of the Hannah Montana and Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. Making Some Noise: Hannah and Miley Live in Concert takes you to a typical show on the Miley/Hannah “Best of Both Worlds” tour, peppered with a collage of fan photos and press reviews. If They Were a Movie: Hannah Montana on the Big Screen reveals the demand for “Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus – Best of Both Worlds Concert: The 3-D Movie” which kept it in theaters beyond its initial one-week run, to rumors about “Hannah Montana: The Movie” which, according to Disney, “will reach theaters in 2008 despite the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike.” Missed it by that much!

Life’s What She Made It: The Miley Cyrus News Diary is billed as “a month-by-month look at Miley’s rise to superstardom.” Starting with a newspaper article in November 2003 noting that Destiny Hope (Miley) Cyrus will reprise a role on her father’s TV show Doc, it details any and all mention of her nascent vocation from publicity appearances to gossip about future projects. The news items run the gamut from big (“January 2008: A bit of controversy erupted over the discovery that Miley uses a body double briefly on stage as she changes from Hannah back to herself.”) to small (“September 2007: Waukesha, Wisconsin, teenager Karli Hintz, who is suffering from a cancerous brain stem tumor, was granted her dream by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and would be flown out to California so that she could meet her idol, Miley Cyrus.”). The journal ends in April 2008 with Miley’s performance on American Idol: Idol Gives Back. The Hannah Montana Episode Guide is a comprehensive look at the first two seasons of the hit show, including various images. Each show gives its title, the song that inspired its name, original air date, one or two sentence highlight, “Did You Know?” trivia, and “Did You Notice?” gaffs.

Living the Dream: Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus – The Unofficial Story is an impressive endeavor by entertainment journalist by Susan Janic, who has even started a blog “to keep up with the latest and greatest on your favorite pop star and mine.” She has gone on to pen Jonas Brothers Forever: The Unofficial Story of Kevin, Joe & Nick. Of the non-sanctioned works regarding Disney’s darling, this one is the best I’ve seen so far, with many attractive and rarely-seen photo selections.

144 pages

Original Source: The Trades, by Paul Schultz, October 10, 2009