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amberdawnford's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
cyprusr3ad5s's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
4.25
America Ferrera's famous friends write essays about what it means for them to be American on the fringes of what mainstream America thinks of as American. It's great if you grew up feeling like only you had to deal with this stuff, nice to know that famous people had to deal with it too.
sallydally's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
This book helped me feel less lonely in more ways than I knew possible as it connected me with the stories of people that look like me, that sound like me, and that know me and my experiences.
It gave me hope. It made me laugh and it made me cry. Not because every entry was well written or every story relatable. But rather because I found pieces of myself in their confusion. I found that people relate to themselves and each other in so many unique ways that I didn’t know was possible. It gave me an outlet for the feelings of Americanization and shame that would overcome me when I see other people understand more about the culture I come from, than I do. I loved this book. It’s not for everyone. But for me, it was what I needed. A reminder of my inherent worth. That I don’t need anybody else’s validation, permission, attention, or approval to be alive as I am. And that no matter where I go, no matter if people don’t understand me, don’t know me, I am connected to history of people who’ve been through the same things. And sometimes, we found each other.
It gave me hope. It made me laugh and it made me cry. Not because every entry was well written or every story relatable. But rather because I found pieces of myself in their confusion. I found that people relate to themselves and each other in so many unique ways that I didn’t know was possible. It gave me an outlet for the feelings of Americanization and shame that would overcome me when I see other people understand more about the culture I come from, than I do. I loved this book. It’s not for everyone. But for me, it was what I needed. A reminder of my inherent worth. That I don’t need anybody else’s validation, permission, attention, or approval to be alive as I am. And that no matter where I go, no matter if people don’t understand me, don’t know me, I am connected to history of people who’ve been through the same things. And sometimes, we found each other.
ronniereads1820's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
mbdarwin's review against another edition
3.0
I love the idea, but found most of the essays somewhat dry. It is a good book for a variety of readers, because you can just read one and discuss, but from a literary standpoint, I liked very few. (The Roxane Gay essay a notable exception)
dimples0508's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this would be a book BY America Ferrera, but it's not. And interestingly enough, a lot of Latinas idolize her but the more we get to know her, the more we realize how unlike her we are. It's like the comparison to people described in Outliers, America's success story is not based on her luck or sticking to her family's culture: it was based on her adapting to white culture and being privileged and having all the right opportunities. I still liked several stories in the book but comparing them to America's coming of age story was slightly cringey. She's really like the Vanessa Hudgens, Demi Lovato's of the world: as much as you like America's roles she had the opportunity to play, learning more about her alienates you. She may look like me, but she did not live as me.