Scrappy Little Nobody

October 31, 2016
In this snarky collection of personal essays, actress Kendrick recounts her early years as a theater-loving kid from Portland, Maine, who became a Hollywood “It Girl.” Since Kendrick is only 31, much of her reminiscing is concentrated on her not-so-distant childhood, beginning with her first role, at age six, in a community production of Annie. Unlike many child stars, Kendrick had a fairly normal childhood: she went to school, where she was the uncool kid (few people at home were impressed when she tried bragging about going to Sundance Film Festival). She details her desire to be in a period piece and how she got her wish with 2014’s In the Woods, telling an amusingly self-deprecating anecdote about costumes. Style is a theme, but not in the usual way of so many Hollywood memoirs. Most adult actors don’t detail how they could shop at the kids’ section of stores like L.L. Bean (let alone be caught dead at L.L. Bean) or admit that they don’t adore fashion, but in many ways Kendrick is a refreshing outlier. When she gives advice, such as how not to make eye contact with the press during film junkets, she displays real wit and comic timing on the page.

October 1, 2016
The autobiography of a Mainer who hit the big time in Hollywood.Born and raised in Portland, Maine, Kendrick started acting professionally at a very young age when she landed a part in a community theater production of Annie. From there, she scored other parts in a variety of plays and eventually wound up in Hollywood, where she's had roles in the Twilight and Pitch Perfect series and Up in the Air, among other movies. "My entire personality was fully formed by the time I was three, writes the author. I was an obstinate, determined little ball of anxiety. Id thought of myself as fearful and shrinking in childhood but I was often single-minded and pugnacious. From age three onward I have been practical and skeptical and occasionally more courageous than I have any right to be." Kendrick blends her discussion of how she entered into the acting business with commentary on events in her childhood, most of which are typical. She covers her small stature, her friends and enemies in grade school, her crushes on a number of boys, how she learned about fashion and stylists in Hollywood, what it was like to work with famous actors like George Clooney, and a host of other, often mundane details of her life. Because she was a child actor, most of Kendricks stories are focused on her early, formative years when she had to balance work and trying to live a somewhat normal childhood. Unfortunately, her attempts at humor often fall flat, making her sound unnecessarily snarky instead of funny, and her overall tone borders on self-obsessed. Fans of Kendrick and those infatuated with knowing the personal details of a celebrity's life will enjoy finding out how the author rose to stardom; others may find the content less than entertaining. Thanks to her hard work, Kendrick is a scrappy little somebody now, but she should stick to acting. The intimate and semi-entertaining details of an actors childhood and her rise to stardom in Hollywood.

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October 15, 2016
Actress Kendrick introduces her memoir by telling the reader not to take her stories too seriously. She asks her audience to agree that the following book is a conversation, possibly a tweet, but longer. Kendrick lives up to the bargain and delivers an engaging narrative of her life that can be devoured in one sitting. She details her career from her first Broadway role in High Society at age 12 through film roles in Up in the Air and Pitch Perfect, highlighting lessons from great actors and moments from early years spent struggling in Los Angeles. Kendrick remains relatable even when describing extraordinary experiences, such as the unpleasant details of prepping for the red carpet awards shows. She delivers relationship PSAs and tells personal stories without creating villains (aside from a first-grade bully named Tori). Ending with Kendrick's tongue-in-cheek Bonus Reading Group Guide, Scrappy Little Nobody lets readers feel like they have spent an afternoon chatting with their closest friend.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)