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| Touchstone |
Author: Anna Kendrick
Genre: Nonfiction
Subgenres: Memoir, short stories, humor
My Review and Thoughts: Oh, Anna Kendrick. Girl crush of so many girls, actual crush to pretty much all of the male population. You are funny, real, awkward but honest about it, and talented as hell. Stage actress, screen actress, and a talented singer to boot. Is there anything you can't do?
Well, we can't add "write a book" to the minuscule list of things you can't do now, can we? Dammit, Kendrick, why are you so relatable and real??
I was actually maybe-kinda-sort-of hoping that her book would be mediocre. I mean she's hilarious on Twitter and just plain ol' charming whenever I see her interviewed on talk shows or even at press junkets. She can't do it at all, right? But nope, Scrappy Little Nobody reads like Anna is literally your best friend, divulging all of her funny yet meaningful and wildly entertaining stories to you as you're both sitting in your living room couch drinking coffee (or maybe something with alcohol in it. I don't judge, and neither does Anna, I'm sure). And now I'm kicking myself for ever doubting Anna Kendrick in the first place. That'll show me!
Anna begins the book with the meaning of Scrappy Little Nobody, a reference to her small stature (even as a young child), her tenacity, and the fact that she works hard, but never quite believes she'll ever be that celebrity status figure; which she actually is now, but as she explains, it's all a matter of perspective. From her start as a girl who learned she had a desire to sing and act, her amazingly supportive parents (and then later her brother, who must be as hilarious and likable as she is, since apparently she stole her sense of humor from him!) took her on numerous trips from her home-state in Maine, and into New York City, to audition for commercials and plays, her trademark humor and realism showed, even in her young life. (Her descriptions of the child actors and their parents were hilarious AND terrifying) From there, she tells us amusing and hilarious stories about her younger days in school (elementary, junior high, and high school), ups and downs with friends, and boys (more like about her equal parts liking and fearing boys, which I totally get and still kind of am like now. Anna's a literal spirit animal, I tell ya!). Anna's eventual move to Los Angeles after high school to start her movie acting career is where her adventures get even more funny and crazy as she tries to settle in LA (without a car at first!), make friends, have relationships (ugh, boys, right?), and audition for movies.
Along with stories about her childhood stint on Broadway in High Society, Anna also includes tidbits about her breakout role in the indie movie Camp (where her nonunion film really felt like a camp while filming and the cast got to crash the Sundance Film Festival when the film was nominated), her roles in the Twilight movies (Pro: literally only working for a week or two on each film, plus she got to avoid all of the fan hysteria that was focused on the main cast; Con: filming in the cold), Up in the Air (yeah, she hung out with George Clooney. Your point?) and Pitch Perfect (and Pitch Perfect 2. You may have heard of those little movies). She went from pretty much picking out (and buying!) her own clothes and doing her own makeup without a stylist to go to premieres or award shows, to, as her career blew up, having a whole team of stylists, makeup artists, and hair stylists working on her dress, hair, makeup, shoes, jewelry (!!!) for award shows (like the Oscars, where she performed with Neil. Patrick. Harris!!). She also devotes a whole chapter, which I so thoroughly enjoyed, to theoretical parties she could throw if she had, you know, the time, energy, and the parking space for all of her party guests (same, girl. Same). And also how Zac Efron is literally a god (can't argue with that).
But as famous as Anna gets, one of the major themes throughout her book is her social awkwardness: never knowing quite what to say or even just saying something than immediately start questioning in your head why you ever said that, or even worse, realizing what you said hours or days later and then just obsess over that interaction for years to come (I mean, been there, done that). That fact that she's so upfront about her own social awkwardness, her doubts about herself, her normal life and her "famous" life, is incredibly refreshing and quite frankly incredibly brave in her honesty. In everyone else's eyes, she has it all, she's famous, she's an award nominated actress, but she's still just Anna, flaws and all. But she knowingly acknowledges it and twists it in her favor, adding humorous commentary to her socially awkward interactions and thoughts, which makes it an amusing quip to us, but it must be a cathartic expression of acceptance and self-awareness for her. She's taking control of something that could deeply and negatively impact her life and instead is owning it and therefore empowering herself and others who may be thinking those same worrying thoughts. If she wasn't endearing already, I think her endearing levels went through the roof.
So basically, Anna Kendrick is talented, funny, witty, smart, honest, tenacious, hard-working, sometimes brassy, swears a bit, a bit awkward and just plain old awesome. If you don't want her to be your BFF, I think you're lying to yourself and everyone else. Anna Kendrick is all of us, and everything we should aspire to be in terms of accepting and being honest with yourself. You'll finish the book with a big smile on your face, from her frank, genuine, and just freaking funny stories and feel like you're less alone in the world and have gained a super cool new best friend.
Should You Read It: Yes! I seriously think every young teen girl, or young woman should read this book. Anna's writing style really does feel like she's talking to you, her brand new friend, as she almost reassures you that you're not alone in your socially awkward or silly ways, she understands, she GETS YOU. Plus the book is super stupid funny. Like, ridiculously funny. Have I said that enough? ANNA KENDRICK'S BOOK IS SO FUNNY AND HILARIOUS AND WITTY AND SMART THAT YOU SHOULD GO READ IT RIGHT NOW. Did I finally get the message across yet? 😉
Stay Weird,
Emily
Where to Buy:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Or, check out a copy from your local library!
Goodreads:
Scrappy Little Nobody
Check Out the Author (and singer and actress aka the jack of all trades that is Anna Kendrick):
