Book Review: Scrappy Little Nobody By Anna Kendrick

Scrappy Little Nobody By Anna Kendrick

Genre: Nonfiction, Autobiography, Humor, Memoir
Pages: 275 pages
Published: November 15th 2017
Publisher: Touchstone Books
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Plot: A collection of humorous autobiographical essays by the Academy Award-nominated actress and star of Up in the Air and Pitch Perfect.

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.”

At the ripe age of thirteen, she had already resolved to “keep the crazy inside my head where it belonged. Forever. But here’s the thing about crazy: It. Wants. Out.” In Scrappy Little Nobody, she invites readers inside her brain, sharing extraordinary and charmingly ordinary stories with candor and winningly wry observations.

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).

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My Review: So this book has been on my radar since I heard it was coming out. I knew this would be a book I listen to on audio book. My favorite thing about celebrity autobiographies is that it’s always read by them. I’m not a huge Anna Kendrick fan but I’ve always found her funny so I figured this would be something I enjoyed.

I really enjoyed getting to know Anna more. I didn’t realize her career started as early as it did. She did Broadway when she was younger. So I did end up finding out a lot of things I didn’t know about her. She would talk about the movies she’s been in and the people she’s worked with. I enjoyed her talking about Zac Efron and Chris Pine. She even had some mentions of George Clooney in there. I also found some of the stories pretty amusing. She did end up getting some laughs out of me.

I think my favorite part of this book was the energy she brought to the reading. I ended up enjoying it a lot more because she was very outgoing and energetic. She was having a good time and making jokes. There were times when I found myself zoning off because I always get like that with audiobooks but I was brought back into it by Anna’s voice.

Overall I felt like I got to know Anna a lot more. I didn’t know too much to begin with. It was very enjoyable because of how Anna went about reading it. She brought a lot of energy to the reading. I will be checking out more of her movies in the future. The only thing I wish I did was have the book in front of me so I would have paid attention more.

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Have you guys read or listened to this book? I would love to get your thoughts on it.

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