Sliding Into Home

I wasn't even a fan of Kendra's or The Girls Next Door when it originally aired; I started watching her last winter when there wasn't much else on, but now I'm hooked on her show, and I'm trying to get caught up on all the older episodes of The Girls Next Door whenever they are on.This book was so good I didn't put it down. I read it from cover to cover in 5 hours, it was that interesting. She had a rough childhood and most of her middle school and high school years were even worse, mostly due to her own doing. That being said, she has made a tremendous change in her life for the better, and I truly respect her for that.I wish the book would have gone into more detail about Hef and the Mansion, but from the gist of what I read in this book, my questions were pretty much answered. I just wanted the gory details!!! And I'm sure out of respect for Hef, Kendra could have said a lot more about the Mansion but she kept her mouth shut. Before this book, I didn't think much of Hef, but I have a newfound respect for the way he treats his women.Kendra may be a celebrity, but deep down she is no different than the rest of us. She is REAL. I loved the eight pages of color photos. And I especially thought the laxative story during physical therapy class was hilarious! I think the last 1/3 of the book was definitely the best - starting with the time she met Hank for the first time at the golf outing.If you're a Kendra fan, this book will not disappoint you. I'm looking forward to a sequel.

I want to start off by saying I think Kendra is adorable and endearing in what I've seen of her GND and Kendra. But, I find her book to be less than satisfying. I bought it because I am a huge GND fan, and wanted to know the full story.The book is very poorly written. It's full of "this happened, and then this happened." There's very little self analyst on why she did the things she did. I feel I could have identified with her more if she had expanded on some of her actions. The whole book left me with the feeling that she was just floated through her life passively, reacting to the people around her, but never being proactive in creating a new life for herself. It sounded like everything good that occurred was completely by chance, and that she was just a victim in many of the bad things that happened to her.One part that really bothered me was her description of when she first moved into the mansion. She said that Holly and Bridget were not friends with her and seemed to hate her for no reason. Based on what she said earlier in the book about her trouble making friends through school, and all her comments about her not being like Holly and Bridget, I have to doubt that it was just Holly and Bridget being mean to her. But yet, that's the way she protrays it. She makes it seem like she did nothing wrong, she was a total victim, and they were out to get her for no reason. It makes the book come across as extremely one sided, and makes me doubt the truth of the words, as though she's hiding information that would make her look bad.She also continously makes disrespectful decisions. Hef (obviously) doesn't want her cheating on him, and she said she did it several times. But nearly in the same breath, she says she respects him more than anyone. Hank asks her not to flash people, and she continues to do it, knowing full well he disaproves.Again, I'm not trying to bash Kendra's actions. I just wish she would have explained further what motivated these kinds of decisions. I don't want to think of her a selfish, unkind person, but that's how she comes across. I hope it is just bad writing in the book that is causing her to come across this way.Overall, I'd say this book is a good read for fans of GND and Kendra. People who don't know Kendra would be better off watching her on TV, as it would be a much better introduction to her charming personality.

When it comes down to it I am not really a fan of reality television shows, I actually don't watch a lot of television at all. Yet with a reality show there is always that awareness that the `character' portrayed is presented as a stereotype, a mere caricatures of themselves. Sliding into Home does not show us the fun and light hearted Kendra that those of us who have watched her reality shows would be familiar with - at least not to start with - instead the reader is confronted with the real story.If you had to summarise Sliding into Home in just one word, that word would be brave. The contents of this book are not something that Kendra had to share with the public. The retelling of her adolescence is in no way sensationalised, everything is discussed in a mature and reflective way. Kendra acknowledges her past actions, accepts that they have made her who she is today, and at no point blames anyone else for her rebellious and destructive teenage years.The retelling of her earlier years, before she became associated with the mansion, provides the reader with an understanding as to why Kendra often referred to Hugh Hefner as having saved her. She goes on to tell of her time at the Playboy Mansion - her relationship with Hef, her feelings towards Holly and Bridget, detailing what that part of her life was really like.I think my favourite part of the biography was the retelling of when and how Kendra met, and then began dating, her husband Hank. The conflict that is described felt real - it discusses the point in time that someone decides to give up the comfort and security they have, to replace it with a potential happily ever after. The transition to a very different sort of life to what she became used to was refreshing, nothing was glamorised, and it provides a great companion piece to the Kendra reality series.I really have to admit that the whole concept of Playboy is not my sort of thing, however that said the reality show Girls Next Door seemed like a concept just too interesting to pass up. I have watched every episode of the first five seasons Girls Next Door, and just completed the first season of Kendra's own reality show. I actually miss not having Kendra, Bridget and Holly together on one reality show anymore!I did not hesitate reading the biography of Kendra Wilkinson when it was first released - and I am glad I did. Reading Sliding into Home allows the reader to see the character they know as Kendra as a real person with her own thoughts and feelings.