Vanessa Hudgens

Children's Literature - Judy DaPolito

This heavily illustrated biography of Vanessa Hudgens covers her life and career in brief headlined segments. The first two pages summarize her current status in four such segments: "The Rest Is Herstory," a description of the audition for High School Musical that accelerated her career; "Tough Competition," a mention of one of the performers she surpassed; "Meet Vanessa," a depiction of the variety of her work and the background that led to her success; and "More Than Meets the Eye," an observation of her beauty and personality. Similar segments throughout the rest of the thirty-two-page book fill in various details of Vanessa's life and career. In these segments, the reader learns about her years of voice, music, and dance lessons and the amateur and professional performances that led up to her winning the role of Gabriella Montez. Her close family ties, her friends, and her current romantic interest are discussed and illustrated. Vanessa's personal comments are scattered through the book under the heading "She Said It," and information is included about her concert tours, CD's and volunteer work. Following the text are a timeline of Vanessa's life, a glossary, a list of additional books about Vanessa, a list of websites relating to her and to the High School Musical series, and an index. The book is part of the "Superstars!" series. Reviewer: Judy DaPolito