jamgrl's reviews
176 reviews

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

fast-paced

5.0

This book is incredible. The taglines say it is funny— it is funny in that it finds humor in the stories, and it is written in a very matter-of-fact way rather than sitting in emotions, but that to me serves to elevate the horror, frankly. McCurdy makes a brilliant choice to write about her life in chronological order, in the voice of herself as she was going through events, and that illustrates her mindset while clearly showing the abuse she received and the results of that abuse. It makes the lows lower and the highs higher. It was an addicting book and hearing it read in Jannette McCurdy’s voice made it hit harder. I think this book is an incredible and important read regardless of whether you are familiar with Jennette McCurdy, but as a childhood fan of iCarly, this book was painful. It both reframed what I remember about the show and was extra vivid because when she talks about the her experiences on set, the feelings she was having while shooting a specific scene, I remember the scene she is talking about. I was afraid to read this book because I thought it would be an emotionally hard read, which I was right about 😅, but it was so worthwhile in how impactful it was. I also want to emphasize that it wasn’t just the events of the book— it is really tightly written. Celebrity memoirs are pretty hit or miss in terms of quality of writing and organization of the narrative— this one is just really really good. Of course, finding out that Jennette McCurdy wanted to be a writer from an early age makes experiencing her writing feel like it matters even more.

Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo

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4.0

We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring medium-paced