Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick 3,5/5 Award: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Humour (2016) Français: Aucune traduction française n’a été annoncée. Thanks to my mom for getting this for me. Summary Even before she made a name for herself on the silver screen starring in films like Pitch Perfect, Up in the Air, Twilight, and Into the Woods, Anna Kendrick was unusually small, weird, and “10 percent defiant.” With her razor-sharp wit, Anna recounts the absurdities she’s experienced on her way to and from the heart of pop culture as only she can—from her unusual path to the performing arts (Vanilla Ice and baggy neon pants may have played a role) to her double life as a middle-school student who also starred on Broadway to her initial “dating experiments” (including only liking boys who didn’t like her back) to reviewing a binder full of butt doubles to her struggle to live like an adult woman instead of a perpetual “man-child.” Enter Anna’s world and follow her rise from “scrappy little nobody” to somebody who dazzles on the stage, the screen, and now the page—with an electric, singular voice, at once familiar and surprising, sharp and sweet, funny and serious (well, not that serious). -- Goodreads My review I am always very quick to judge a book. When you read as much as I do, you don’t want to spend your money on a book that will disappoint you. One of the many things I am skeptical about is books written by celebrities. In general, I try not to bother with the lives of the rich and famous since they deserve their privacy and knowing what George Clooney ate for lunch holds absolute zero interest for me. Furthermore, it does not mean that you can write even if you read and act a script. However, the simple fact that there is a celebrity’s name on the cover is enough to bring it to New York Times Best Seller standards. That being said, I love Anna Kendrick, and Pitch Perfect is one of my favourite franchise. Overall, I enjoyed Scrappy Little Nobody. It is exactly what you would expect from young actress’ memoir. It mostly focuses on her life as an artist and a “scrappy little nobody”. Her life is exactly what you would expect of a super star: she started as a child with fair success, she struggled to make the ends meet after high school, and miraculously found a spot amongst the elite. The plot itself is not original. She does have some pretty insane stories (including a weekend in a pirate festival???) which you would expect from an aspiring actress. My favourite part was learning about the life of a child actor. I imagine things have greatly changed since her time on the Broadway stage, but seeing the sacrifices her family made for her and the bewilderment of dancing and singing for the first time was inspiring. There are a few jabs here and there at Hollywood Inc., mostly about the clothes and red carpets. I expected more, talk about the underrepresentation of females in the industry, the power abuse, the money… Her book came out before the Weinstein affair, so it is understandable that she does not approach sexual exploitation and abuse, but there wasn’t much on double standards or pay inequalities which we know have been a problem for a long time. Scrappy Little Nobody is surprisingly nicely written. Kendrick is wonderfully sarcastic and cynic, but not too much. She knows how and where to be sassy while being tasteful. It is not Shakespeare, but the train of thought is clear and enjoyable. It is a humorous auto biopic so don’t expect mind-blowing metaphors about life and death. There were a few passages that overlapped and repeated the same ideas in different chapters, but nothing that truly impedes the reading process. It is hard to critique the “main character” of this story since it is a real human being. I could relate to her a lot. I also tend to fear crowds and would rather spend my evenings in pajamas reading a good book. Scrappy Little Nobody is introspective, and I felt I truly knew her (probably not) once I finished it. There are some great reflections on womanhood and growing up. She beautifully captures what it’s like to be a late-bloomer and not knowing your place in this very large and confusing world. Sometimes I just wanted to shake her and say that it’s ok to be insecure for example she often refers to her short height in a self-derogatory which did not bring anything to the story. I am short as well and was bullied because of it, but I don’t go on about it just for fun. It sounded like she was feeling a bit sorry for herself, although I doubt that’s what she was going for. The same thing happened when she talked about her introvert personality or her lack of social skills. If she truly was antisocial, she would not have the career that she has right now. There were some good things in Scrappy Little Nobody, just not anything that make it stand out. I’d recommend this to anyone who loves Kendrick, but not to someone looking for a thoughtful read on Hollywood or for some deep introspections into the life of a star. It remained a little on the surface for me and I wanted a deep dive. If you liked Scrappy Little Nobody, you will love… What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton Fish change Direction in Cold Weather by Pierre Szalowski Egghead by Caroline Pignat
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