About the Book:

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).

My Thoughts:

Anna Kendrick is honest and open about her thoughts and opinions. She refuses to hide what she thinks. She takes us into her mind and shows us the difficulty of trying to keep the crazy in! 😛

She highlights the journey towards becoming an actor and reaching where she is today. In her rather quirky, different way she gives us glimpses into various incidents in her life. She extols the world of cinema as well as theater and throws the doors open to us. She takes us into her world and shows us how that world is. It’s not all easy and she effortlessly brings out the differences to us.

From starting off with theater and auditioning for them to landing a role in small films and working her way up to larger films, Anna tells us what it was like to struggle and the determination and perseverance it took. I appreciate her humility and sincerity in openly stating that sometimes fame can get to the head or at times one may feel like giving up, but she keeps a photo of her 3 year old self as a reminder to trudge on.

Anna gives us a glimpse into the film fraternity and shares with us, through anecdotes and humorous thoughts, the behind the scenes. The feeling of walking down the red carpet, of presenting an award, of acting with some of the bigger stars. It’s all there for us to read. Throw in a few photographs of some life events and she has us hooked.

Without giving away too much about the content of this book, I think this is worth a read. It will open the eyes of the reader to some form of reality with respect to the film fraternity as well as leave us in splits.