Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
Being a fan of the Degrassi Franchise I really wanted to read this book.But if you are wanting to read this because you are a fan as well, don't bother. It does not give alot of information on the franchise as a behind the scenes type book.Degrassi is barely mentioned at all.

I really went into the book thinking it would be a tell-all Degrassi book, but it was very little Degrassi. I liked the author's stories but wish there was more about Degrassi as advertised.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

* Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review *

I really did not come to this book with an open mind. I had already received and started Linda's arc for "The Mother of All Degrassi". And I enjoyed it so much that when I saw this one I thought I was essentially completing a his and hers set. I was not.

Right off the bat, the title is a bit of false advertising. This is not a Mr. Degrasssi book. Not at all.

The organization of the book is all over the place and hard to follow. It suffers desperately from needing better editing or perhaps being allowed to be edited at all.

I did enjoy what we heard about Degrassi, Instant Star, and the LA Complex. Unfortunately, this accounts for less than 15% of the total book.

The rest of the text is all anecdotal. Stories from the author's life are tossed in at random with a central theme that appears to be just patting the author on the back. It's boring and gets into nitty-gritty minutia that isn't at all interesting. It name-drops a lot of people you have to assume are big deals. Honestly, the whole thing wreaks of privilege. There isn't a single stake in the book and every time we hear of a "failure", it's a non-failure. Either he doesn't realize he's in danger until afterward, or things work out just not as he planned. There was the one time that a movie went unmade because he didn't actually receive hundreds of thousands of dollars to make it, but let's back up and maybe explain why he thought he would in the first place.

It jumps around in the timeline so much that it's hard to understand when a chapter is taking place. At one point he mentions that he's married to Linda. We get nothing of their courtship or marriage or birth of his son. We get nothing from his passion for the Degrassi project, other than he got to title the Next Generation and that he helped write the song.

He makes the comment that Linda was always more interested in the story than he was and after reading both books that is extremely clear.

Whatever It Takes is a bait-and-switch biography with not a lot of heart, rather, page after page of the author self-congratulating himself on his taste in music, his ability to stay overseas for months playing gigs for soldiers and political bigwigs of other countries, and then magically being wired money to come home. Delight in the author's ability to negotiate contracts and his impressive list of personal contacts. Contributors interject every chapter about how fantastic the author is at something or other, just in case you might forget.

All in all this book was a lesson in how I need to choose review materials more carefully. I gave an extra star for the audiobook version beginning and ending with the theme song. I will give credit where credit is due. The song is incredible.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook to review. This was quite an enjoyable read, especially since I’d never heard of the author. The title caught my eye and I immediately sang the Degrassi:TNG theme song. It was nice that the audiobook included the song on it. While I do wish there was more about Degrassi in the book (especially because of the title), I did enjoy learning Stohn’s previous life and other things he had a hand in creating. I now want to see if I can watch The LA Complex somewhere.