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ophelie_zl's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Rape
drgnhrt968's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Suicide attempt
hello_lovely13's review
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
I thought this was an easy and entertaining read. Of course, some triggering topics are discussed, but there is a consistent tone throughout the essays that gives the impression of one author. My favorite essays were “Welcome to Jurassic Park”, “Making a Scene”, and “You Do What I Say”. A lot of the essays were entertaining to read, but I often wondered why some of them were included; they either didn’t have a clear point they were trying to make or would end preemptively (the essay “Little Cassandra” is a good example of the latter because it ends just as it starts a conversation about privileges some have with opportunities while others have to work so much harder to reach the starting point others begin at). The structure of the book didn’t make much sense, but the latter half of the book was much stronger than the former because those essays had more intention in their creation rather than just random stories (which I enjoyed reading about, but it seemed a bit random and I prefer a bit more reflection and statement of purpose or lesson in an essay format). Overall, a good read, but nothing that stands out. I did enjoy hearing her opinions about representation and what others want to hear versus reality, as well as how shame fits into those narratives. This was quite honest, as she is very forthcoming with her regrets, mistakes, and flaws, and I often found these flaws relatable as well as her path to bettering herself. This isn’t a must-read to me, but I enjoyed the experience of reading it all the same.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Rape
Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Sexism
ashlightgrayson's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
5.0
This was such a compelling walk through Constance Wu's experiences in Hollywood as a first generation child of Chinese immigrants as well as a woman. I am first generation myself and there were many moments that I could relate to. There is one quote in particular that hit me hard that she wrote in page 84 as follows:
Parents are generally smarter and more experienced than their kids. But there’s this thing that sometimes happens with the kids of immigrant parents. There’s a tacit understanding that because your parents didn’t grow up in America, they don’t get American stuff. My sisters and I either taught our parents about American problems, or we just handled them ourselves. My parents would not have understood a Mrs. Kantor type—the charm of her brashness, the way it overpowered everything else. I also thought that she’d use their foreignness, their very accents, to discredit me further. Nonimmigrant Americans often equate accented English with a lack of intelligence. But my parents are educated and smart. They can write in English beautifully with clear grammar. But their spoken accents are strong to some. I knew Mrs. Kantor would hear their accents and think they were stupid. I wasn’t going to let anyone think my parents were stupid. I had to protect them. That’s why I never told them.
Specifically, the line where she says "I had to protect them". I have had this sentiment before with my parents. Like Wu's parents, they are intelligent, hardworking, and have all of my respect. Unfortunately, when you are perceived as an immigrant that does not speak English well in the United States all of that respect is no longer merited in some people's eyes. It is unfair, but it is accurate and often puts us, their children, in a position where we have to grow up too fast. We have to take on the role of caregiver in order to protect them from being humiliated for factors out of their control.
Wu speaks extensively on her relationships with men throughout the book, both in a professional and romantic capacity. Her narratives around some of her romantic relationships are vaguer than others. It is definitely not the focus of the book. However, it does give insight to what she learned about herself in the context of those relationships. Additionally, she shares details about both her more positive experiences with them men in her life and the more #MeToo adjacent ones. It is unfortunate that sexual abuse towards women is so commonplace, but it not surprising. Her experience on Fresh Off the Boat especially was disturbing to read, but I'm glad she had the space here to tell it.
The narrative of her experiences is relatable and feels authentic, like listening to a friend talk to you about their life. The writing is easily digestible but holds emotional depth and impact. I personally am not an avid follower of Constance Wu, but still found her story compelling and would recommend this memoir if you are looking for a good one to pick up.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism
sthurma22's review
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I’ve always enjoyed Constance Wu’s performances and was appalled to hear about her attempt following social media backlash. It was nice to have a more rounded picture of who she is outside of social media and television/movies. I will say, the overall story telling was hard for me to stay engaged with which is why it’s a 3 star read for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Rape
thatbookbinch's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Moderate: Fatphobia
katiekenniston's review
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
steviewigles's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
love constance, could feel the emotion with her reading the audiobook. certain parts felt disjointed and like i wouldve ordered them differently but hey! it’s her memoir not mine!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
crystaltran's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
i had no idea Constance was such a beautiful writer, but reading this memoir felt a lot like reading poetry a lot of the time. it was a really wonderful recount of her life story, with a lot of focus on her theatre background, love life, and her life pre-fame. i thought there would be more detail/stories about her life after becoming famous but she mostly passed over that topic in order to talk about bigger themes in those moments of her life which i honestly really appreciated because it made her seem more relatable to the average reader.
there’s a lot of difficult and personal topics included in this memoir. a lot of chapters recount her struggles with her womanhood, pursuing the arts, struggling with her emotions and trying to suppress them, and experiencing sexual harassment/assault. there’s a lot of sensitive topics spoken about, but i thought they were handled really well and talked about in such an intelligent and deep way. a lot of her struggles with these experiences were so relatable and real even if i haven’t personally experienced the same thing that she writes about.
i really enjoyed reading this memoir, both for the actual writing style and the stories included. constance is a really gifted writer and i honestly hope she releases more writing in the future. i generally feel odd rating memoirs anything less than 5 stars because who am i to judge someone’s personal life story, but i did take away a star only because (and this is mainly from an editing perspective) a lot of the chapters felt disjointed. it’s not told in chronological order, not that it needs to be, but the order in which the chapters are don’t have much of a flow and makes reading some things a little difficult with the continuity and generally lowered the quality of reading. the last chapter especially didn’t really feel right as the last chapter- i would’ve just tweaked the order in which the chapters were presented, but otherwise, this is a really wonderful yet vulnerable read.
there’s a lot of difficult and personal topics included in this memoir. a lot of chapters recount her struggles with her womanhood, pursuing the arts, struggling with her emotions and trying to suppress them, and experiencing sexual harassment/assault. there’s a lot of sensitive topics spoken about, but i thought they were handled really well and talked about in such an intelligent and deep way. a lot of her struggles with these experiences were so relatable and real even if i haven’t personally experienced the same thing that she writes about.
i really enjoyed reading this memoir, both for the actual writing style and the stories included. constance is a really gifted writer and i honestly hope she releases more writing in the future. i generally feel odd rating memoirs anything less than 5 stars because who am i to judge someone’s personal life story, but i did take away a star only because (and this is mainly from an editing perspective) a lot of the chapters felt disjointed. it’s not told in chronological order, not that it needs to be, but the order in which the chapters are don’t have much of a flow and makes reading some things a little difficult with the continuity and generally lowered the quality of reading. the last chapter especially didn’t really feel right as the last chapter- i would’ve just tweaked the order in which the chapters were presented, but otherwise, this is a really wonderful yet vulnerable read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
ag_cheng's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment