I would like to thank NetGalley and Cynren Press for allowing me early access to this novel in exchange for a review. All thoughts expressed here are my own.

Most teenagers go through a phase where they obsess over a musical group. For me-a teen in the '00s-I was in love with McFly. They were cute, had British accents, and seemed relatable. I joined online forums, forced the music on my friends, imported DVDs, CDs, and shirts, and might have shed a few tears when I couldn't get tickets to their NYC show in 2011. I first discovered McFly late at night while watching TV. When the announcer talked about the records McFly had broken that had initially been set by The Beatles, I was both intrigued and skeptical. I was also a big fan of The Beatles' music, too. 

For teenager Patricia "Patti" Gallo growing up in the 1960s, The Beatles were her McFly. "Diary of a Beatlemaniac" is a reprinting of Patti's diary from 1962 to 1967. Through her diary entries, we get the chance to see the other side of Beatlemania that we normally aren't treated to. Many of us know about the fainting, screaming, crazed Beatlemaniacs, but not many us know what it was actually like to be one of those girls. Because of Patti's diary, we are given insight in order to understand and relate to the Beatlemaniacs of the '60s. They weren't completely crazy; they were just teenage girls doing what teenage girls tend to do best. 

Throughout the book, we are treated to fun moments, such as when Patti first discovers The Beatles.
"On Sunday, we read in the newspaper magazine about a new music group that is really popular in England. Pictures of screaming girls appeared with the black-and-white photos of the long-haired musicians. Why were the girls so nutty? I mean, it wasn't Elvis. I can't remember the name of the group."

We also get to see Patti and her "Beatle Buddies" make attempts to meet the Beatles, write articles for a local newspaper, and create a fan club and build a friendship with actor Victor Spinetti who appeared in several of The Beatles films. For me, it was great to see the included photos of Patti and her friends as well as autographs that had been sent to her. 

Not only does the book discuss her love of The Beatles, but it also gives us a chance to watch Patti grow up. In the first entry, she is a 13-year-old 8th grade student. In her last, she is an 18-year-old college freshman. You can tell as the book progresses that the Beatles slowly stop being the focal point of her life. She goes from a teenage girl pining over boys and feeling hopeless about never getting a date to going to prom and finding confidence in herself. She attributes much of her confidence to her time as a Beatlemaniac. 

While the book was enjoyable, I think it would have been more fun had she provided some anecdotes along the way. Perhaps she could have added commentary, her thoughts looking back all this time later, to some of the entries. I feel as though that would have greatly enhanced the novel.

All in all, it's a nice time capsule. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in The Beatles or curious about the hoards of teenage girls and their motives.

Very interesting! Love the Beatles! Pictures of the collection were really neat to look at. Would totally recommend this book just for the pictures and other memorabilia! I did like the Diary format.

I thought this was a fun book to read. It was just interesting to imagine what it was like following around the Beatles and everything.

It was a really cute and fun insight to a Beatlemaniac's life. It was nice to learn about how a Beatle fanatic was living, what fashions they wore, what quirky little Beatles-related things they did (sometimes I felt a little bit annoyed by some of the things I read, but then I realized I did the same exact things when I was a teen :D... it was nice to go down on memory lane about my own teenage years and my teenage celebrity crushes). I really appreiated the photos included in the book, it added a nice touch. It also reminded me about by myself at age 14-16 when I was thinking that I was the plainest looking girl ever and no one could ever like me that way because I was not pretty enough... when now I realize there IS some prettiness to me. Same with Patti - I thought she looked stunning even at 14-1 :). I also liked that I could get to learn the music scene of the '60s better and hear the stories about Victor Spinetti and Hy Lit. Spinetti was THE BEST - I don't thnk most people woul be that selfless not to feel offended when people come up to them asking about OTHER celebrities they worked with.

The only issue I had with the book:
- there were full sentences, phrases, excerpts written in the prologues, taken word by word from later parts in the book, such as diary excerpts and newspaper posts. I found that a little bit lazy
- I would have appreciated a bit more of the author looking back on her teenage self and give a bit more extra insight to the posts or memories she did not share in her diary

I had high hopes for this book, but honestly, the title should have alerted me that this wasn't what I was looking for - this book is literally the diary of a young woman who was obsessed with the Beatles in the 1960's.

There were some things I enjoyed about this book. For one, it gave me a much more complete look at living in the 1960's than most historical accounts could. This was the diary of a young woman growing up in 1960's America and that part of things was really fascinating.

However, at the same time, teenagers have kind of been the same for decades. It was painful to read a lot of the poetry that she wrote about Paul and the endless obsessing she and her friends did for YEARS. It was like looking back on my teenage years, though not necessarily in a good way. I picked this book up hoping to learn more about the Beatles and, while I did learn a little, I mostly learned that this woman loved Paul when she was in high school. This didn't contribute to my knowledge about their music or their lives or what it was like to interact with the Beatles. It was all teenage drama and lots of moping about not marrying Paul.

I would have liked to see more commentary from the author. It could have been interesting to hear her talk more about how her love of the Beatles changed over the years or how she feels about her past obsession now that she's an adult. Or even how she feels about modern portrayals of Beatlemania. But nope. It was literally just her diary with a couple interviews thrown in at the end. This is an easy money-grab for sure and did nothing to further my own enthusiasm for the Fab Four.

Recommended for die-hard lovers of the Beatles or 1960's buffs or aliens trying to learn about the American teenager, but I doubt anyone else will find this that interesting.

I was all of twelve when I discovered the Beatles, almost by accident. I knew the name, but hadn't heard any of the music, and had been put off by my 7th grade teacher's insistence that the music was silly and pointless. But the cover of Meet the Beatles grabbed hold of my imagination and wouldn't let go, so I listened, and I fell.  I think a lot of us who grew up in that era have similar stories about discovering the band, and stories similar to Gallo's about what the discovery meant to us, how it changed our lives.

Her diary entries took me back in time, reminding me of the events that surrounded my Beatlemania, the sounds, the sights, and mostly of how silly a teenage girl can be over stuff like this.  I did a lot of eye-rolling as I read, but it wasn't a judgement. Rather it was me being amused and embarrassed by having done the exact same things. The obsession, the building of the shrines papered with photos of "the lads," buying the albums and listening non-stop, picking up Brit slang, dressing like the girls they hung out with (Mod girls with long, straight hair.) the Beatles dreams, writing "Mrs George Harrison" in my notebook at school and mourning because I would never, ever be like Patti Boyd, and so could never win George's heart.

As if.

But Gallo's Beatlemania went above and beyond, and she parlayed it into a writing gig, churning out a column for a local newspaper entitled "Teen to Teen," in which she gave a rundown of what was Happening.  Yeah, it was mainly Beatles, but she covered other British invasion groups, as well as home-grown ones.  She also managed to befriend Victor Spinetti, who appeared in both A Hard Day's Night, and Help, and whose ego must've been really healthy to withstand constantly being approached to talk about the group instead of his own career. He comes across really well, a kind and thoughtful gentleman, who got a kick out of the kids who approached him.

Gallo interviewed Spinetti several times, once much later in life, as she did a local (Philadelphia) DJ known as Hyski who was instrumental to bringing the Beatles to Philly.  It's in these interviews as well as in her epilogue that the book really comes together as she reflects on that era and what it was about for her and her friends. I think I might have enjoyed the book as a whole more than I did if she'd broken up the diary entries with more of the analysis and introspection she shows at the end.

Peppered with newspaper clippings, and photos (though not as many of the latter as I would have expected) it's a light-hearted account of a young girl's coming of age in the early 60s, with a soundtrack unlike anything any of us had heard before. It's a fast read, but nothing particularly heavy, and probably fun more because I remember doing the things she did, thinking and obsessing about the same things she did. You're not going to get any deep insights or musical theory here, just a woman's memoir of an important time in her life, one which will  resonate for some more than others.

A fun read for Beatles fans but this is definitely geared more towards women who experienced Beatlemania first hand. I'm a second generation Beatlemaniac, first generation NKOTB-ist, so I do identify with the boy band obsession. I thought Patti's personal relationship with Victor Spinnetti was incredible and it was fun to read about their interactions and the Beatle relics he was able to secure for Patti and her friends. 
I was under the impression that this would be a narrative with diary entries interspersed but it is basically a reprint of Patti's diaries for several years in the 60s. The photos and articles included were fantastic, some of which were written by Patti herself! I found that a number of entries could have been let out as they were quite personal and didn't add to the life of a Beatlemaniac, just a 15 year old girl in the 60s.

This isn't the kind of book I'd normally read, but it sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a go, It was a window into another world. I'm a music lover but I've never obsessed over the bands I love, so it was fascinating to read what it was like in the early to mid sixties at the height of Beatlemania. The book is mostly in the form of diary entries, with newspaper clippings and photos. As interesting as the content is, what I found most fascinating was watching the narrator go from a shy, naive fifteen year old, to a mature, confident college student, and how her perspective changes. If you're interested in music and pop culture and their history, this is definitely worth a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For those of us old enough to remember those heady days, this will be a fun trip down memory lane! I was only 7 or 8 when the Beatles appeared on the radar, but i got caught up in it, too. Sad day when they broke up. Patricia Gallo-Stenman's book was sort of fun to read, it's essentially just a diary from the era of her everyday life interspersed with Beatle info. Looking back, I don't understand what all the screaming was about? To what end? You couldn't even hear the music over it! Whatever was the point??? I'm glad that nonsense ended pretty quickly, or I'd have never gone to a live concert! Beatle  fans will enjoy this book. Good read!

1964 is a pivotal year in history for many reasons, but for American Beatles fans, that's when the whole party started. This diary is a glimpse into the world of Beatlemania in its original form--a Philadelphia teen hears the music, sees their photos and instantly falls in love. 

I like how this book doesn't take bits and pieces from the daily life of the author, but instead includes all of the other details of her life, such as attending Catholic school, going on first dates, and spending time with friends and family. It is also eye-opening that a group of girls had it in them to plan out a way to infiltrate the hotel the Beatles were staying at or to approach Victor Spinetti, not knowing whether he would be interested in talking to a bunch of teens about the Beatles (thankfully, he was). That takes a whole lot of guts that today's teens probably wouldn't even bother to do for their favorite group. 

Other than the introduction feeling a little repetitive, this is a must-read for Beatles fans who want to vicariously have that first-hand Beatlemania experience.