Happy People Are Annoying by Josh Peck
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Web ID: 16835446Not what I was expecting...
To be completely honest, I bought this in hopes we would get a lot of behind the scenes stories between Drake and Josh. From either the Amanda Show or their show Drake and Josh. I skimmed through to get to that part of the book. There were maybe five pages that even mentioned those shows or Drake Bell. So, if you are getting it for that reason, it will let you down, as it did me.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
So much more than just another “child star memoir”
"Life is ineffable. It's too weird and complex to reduce to a single word: happy. ... joy will come as quickly & as strongly as sadness will, and the cycle will repeat in a beautifully [messed]-up ballet of ups & downs until the sun eats the earth. But I now know one thing for sure: The hard times are here to teach us, and the good times are to remind us what we're fighting for." WOWOW. This was a GOOD one. Confession: I've never watched the Amanda Show. Never watched Drake & Josh. Honestly, I don't think I've seen a single thing that Josh Peck is in (sorry, Josh) & I didn't really know anything about him... so I had no idea what to expect, other than knowing that people say he's hilarious, I was obsessed with the title, and this book came highly recommended from a friend who loves memoirs about mental health as much as I do. I kind of assumed it would be a "hot take, this is what it's like to be a child actor" humorous memoir - but it was so much more than that. Often times, self-deprivation and humor in memoirs can feel cheap, ungenuine, reductionistic... But as he weaves his brand of humor into looking back on all the stages in his life, how he consistently sabotaged himself, and how he learned how to adapt and pivot, Josh Peck maintains the perfect balance of being genuine to himself and his personality, keeping the reader engaged, and also still discussing the hard/dark times in a way with which the reader can empathize. My only gripe (truly) was that his discussion of growing his career on Vine, YouTube, etc. felt way too long - I loved his discussions on poverty, addiction & mental health, the difficulty he had in the world of acting, and just about everything in the book... but it just felt like that portion took longer than it needed to & didn't add as much to the story as the rest. BUT, I recognize that it was a critical chapter for him and it definitely spoke to his resilience and ability to pivot in a creative way. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this memoir (specifically, as an audiobook). It was so entertaining to listen to him narrate his life, while also feeling very authentic and encouraging you to feel connected to and yet also constructively critical of his experiences and actions.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com