A review by aweekinthelife
Making a Scene by Constance Wu

emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0

I think if I were to summarize the book in one word, it would be chaotic. Part of it is that we are just very different people. I appreciate that Constance doesn't try to paint herself as perfect, but she is an extrovert with big feelings and does things because they feel right. I'm an introverted overthinker and her life felt so intense and stressful.

I think the essays/chapters individually are (mostly) solid, but they don't go together well and it ends up feeling more like a series of essays than a single memoir. Some essays are better than others - I think "You Do What I Say" about her time on Fresh off the Boat and "Unfinished Memoirs" about learning to see her parents in a different light are my favorite. The back to back stories of troubled middle school relationships with "Snap and Whistle" followed by "Impeach the President" had me humming Anti-Hero in my head.

I got really into memoirs in 2022 and somehow this one felt like the least relatable memoir I've read, which was unexpected. 
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