Author: Ronnie Spector
Narrator: Rosie Perez
Started: September 1, 2022
Finished: September 5, 2022
Ronnie Spector was a young girl living in Spanish Harlem in New York City who has a dream of singing. After a lot of hard work and networking, her dream finally came true. She and her family became known as the Ronettes. They were one of the most famous girl groups of the 1960s. Ronnie goes over her time as a Ronette and the friends she made along the way, including The Beatles. She also details how she met Phil Spector and how for her, it was love at first sight. As their relationship continues, Phil's true character came out - he did everything he could to control Ronnie…mind, body, and soul. Ronnie deals with this abuse for seven years before she realizes she has to get out. As she fights to get her life back, we see Ronnie as vulnerable as she can be.
Rosie Perez did a wonderful job of narrating Ronnie's story. You could hear the emotion in her voice when she arrived at some of the hardest-to-read parts. She did Ronnie's story proud and her accent fit the story well.
I was raised on the 50s and 60s music and the girl groups are my favorite. I enjoyed every minute of this story although it was very hard to read at times. I also learned that Ronnie was a bit naïve in thinking that Phil loved her as she loved him. For the longest time, she refused to see him for the monster he was. There is a postscript that Ronnie added during the Covid pandemic about the Ronettes finally being admitted to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame…the level of petty within this postscript is fantastic and made me laugh.