Recently, I read Anna Kendrick’s memoir Scrappy Little Nobody and was amazed by how much I enjoyed it. I have always had a lot of trouble getting into the nonfiction genre of novels and each time I try I usually get bored and give up. However, that was not the case with this book because I had a hard time putting it down. The memoir was made up of essays that consisted of everything from childhood stories to life as an actress. Add to that how refreshingly honest and facetious her writing is when she writes about her experiences as both an actress and a person. She doesn’t focus on her success or how she worked to become the actress that she is today, instead she provides insight into her “crazy” as she calls it, both in her professional and personal life.

What made her memoir more appealing to me seemed to be how relatable it was to anyone who read it. She doesn’t focus on the fact that being famous and successful made her into the person she is today, instead she says the exact opposite. It is the normal everyday things that happen that construct a person into who they are. She elaborates that being yourself and letting your crazy out is what is going to help you get to where you want to be. She has a hard time realizing this herself, dealing with the inconsistencies and huge amounts of anxiety that come with becoming an adult, but in this book, she lets all those crazy thoughts she had during those moments come out. She isn’t writing this book to give advice to her readers on how to be better, successful, or any of those other qualities we are always trying to achieve. Actually, she intended for this book to let her readers know that they are not alone in their craziness, that sometimes the crazy reactions we have in our head to our current situations are a normal way to deal with how crazy life can be.

So, I would recommend for anyone looking for a book that will entertain you, then pick up this book. All the stories were very funny and even connected with me a little bit. No matter what subject matter she was talking about I was able to relate my own experiences to them in some way and it made me happy to know that I was not the only person out there dealing with a situation like this that has gotten the better of me and made me question my sanity. Definitely a book that is refreshing and hilarious for all types of readers in any situation.

-Alison DeVries, MS-LS Candidate 2019