Melissa Explains It All: Tales from My Abnormally Normal Life

Recounting her life story in an energetic Long Island accent, TV star Hart outlines a childhood happily spent in front of the camera, from the early commercials of her preschool years and her adolescent breakout role on Clarissa Explains It All to later star turns on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Melissa & Joey. Listeners will enjoy Hart’s rapid-fire rendition of this tell-all, which spills intimate stories of her working-class family and backstage details about Hollywood elites. Sometimes her narration is too brisk and breathless, e.g., when Hart vigorously recounts an angry, drunken tantrum she had in a Mexican bar. But there are plenty of fun moments not available in the print edition, such as when she sings along with the Clarissa theme or affectionately imitates her mother-in-law’s Southern twang. Hart requires only six CDs to tell a story that might have taken other actors seven or eight, making this a fast-paced memoir of a fast-paced life. A St. Martin’s hardcover. (Oct.)