I received this book through Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

If you like Retta, you’re sure to enjoy this book. Retta is funny and direct. This book of essays captures a range of emotions from happiness and hilarity to sadness and anger. Retta covers many topics from celebrity encounters, her love of coffee (OMG I LOVE DARK MAGIC TOO!), television obsession, Parks and Rec shenanigans, and her addiction to Hamilton (ME TOO! ME TOO! AND WE SHARE A BIRTHDAY! We are basically the same person!). She talks about boy drama and bridesmaid drama and the struggles of starting out in Hollywood.

While of course I went into this book because of Parks and Rec, I became fascinated with Retta and her signature writing style. This is a fun book to read. The writing is so casual, which makes it feel more like reading a really long text from a friend. Like Amy Poehler’s quote says on the back cover, it “feels like a real conversation”. It’s helpful to be familiar with the writing style (which uses a lot of lingo that Donna from Parks ad Rec would use), because it can be difficult to read if you don’t know what the abbreviations/slang are referring to.

I didn’t necessarily agree with everything Retta said (such as the rant about vegans- I’m a pescatarian, I get that people with food limitations can be annoying, but to each his/her own), but overall I enjoyed the book. There were a few times I was like, “Wow, you’re being a bit overdramatic”, but we don’t read celebrity books because we want the celebrities to be just like us. We read them to be entertained and I was entertain. Goal succeeded.

Overall, a good book that covers a variety of topics and is sure to get a few laughs out of you. Plus, there are tons of Parks and Rec references.

Goodreads