A nice collection of essays, but most stories fell a little flat for me. It just wasn't all that interesting and didn't hold my attention.

Loved this book. Ellie Kemper is authentic and genuine and I read this book with her voice in my head.

This was a cute, if typical, celebrity memoir. Ellie leaps off the page with a voice as effervescent and innocent as the characters she tends to play. While not a Bossypants level collection, Ellie shows true potential as a writer and it's enjoyable to spend 300 or so pages with her.

I had no idea who Kemper was when i received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. But this is a charming collection full of humor. However, it seems rather shallow in places.

Let’s get this out of the way first: this book is not the next Gone Girl. There is no twist in the third act.

Ellie Kemper is a popular comedic actress, trained in improv and appearing in the same universe as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. And because of this, Ellie has a book. It’s not a bad book, but it’s not going to change any lives.

In a series of essays, Ellie details the trials and tribulations of her life - upper middle class upbringing, Princeton education, and starring role in a hit tv show with very few other credits to her name. While this may seem tone deaf, Ellie imbues her writing with enough self-doubt and deprication that she remains likeable, if only a little boring.

I enjoyed her essays about her childhood a bit more than her “making it in the comedy world” stories. In several places, I laughed out loud. I’m not ready to move to NYC and convince her to enter into a co-dependent friendship with me (that role was reserved for Mindy Kaling after her charming “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?”, the best of the privileged comedy star memoirs) , but if Ellie wants to hang sometime and eat some cupcakes, I’d be down for it.

While I'm a self-professed lover of celebrity memoirs, I wasn't in love with Ellie Kemper's My Squirrel Days. Although there were a couple of entertaining essays, many of the topics were mundane and sometimes boring (e.g. complaining to waiters about a lentil and quinoa salad; joking about telling grandchildren about taking 500 SoulCycle classes). While I think any topic can be interesting in the hands of the good writer, I just didn't care much for style of writing in this collection. I also wish that Ellie had provided more detailed insight into working on the sets of The Office and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

(Note: Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to review this ARC ahead of publication).

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Publishing for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I need to premise this review with the fact that I absolutely adore Ellie Kemper. When I was chosen as a reviewer for this book pre-publication I almost peed my pants and did a Kimmy-like dance routine. (Almost is code for it happened)
Now that I’ve laid down my love, I need to be honest because we try to be brutally honest with the ones we love right? Because they know we’ll continue to support and love them and hope they thrive in all possible ways.
Ellie Kemper is hilarious. She in a special league of comedians that can make me belly laugh, but she throughout reading her memoir left me with more of a “girl – come on now” eye roll. It felt like each chapter she was aiming to find material. The stories drabbled on with no real cohesive point or outlandish feats.
I have said this many times; just because you are famous does not mean you need to write a book. You can be the funniest most interesting character on television but that doesn’t mean your real-life was all that interest or funny. While reading Ellie’s chapters I kept thinking “this could have been written by me”. Ellie and I share a lot of in common, we came from upper middle class cohesive families, and had very little (if any) trauma to shape us into the women we are, were okay-ish field hockey players, and had stuffed animals we kept until adulthood. Don’t get me wrong – that’s not a bad thing. But it also doesn’t lead into any great story telling either. Her family supported her in college (Ivy league) and in her unpaid internships in New York. Many people reading this cannot relate to those things, and the little quips of self-defeating humor of “I allowed myself the independence of agreeing to let my parents pay my rent and groceries” etc. got a little old. Can I relate to that? Yes I sure can, but I don’t think it’s a great way to get the general public on your side.
Her writing style mimics her training as an improv actor – aiming to take the role of the “person” she was in those specific stories which I enjoyed. She delves into being a child, a bridesmaid, an actor, a wife, a mom. But girl, I do not need an entire chapter about if your lunch did or did not have lentils. I also don’t need you to tell me how great SoulCyle is. All white girls love SoulCycle. We get it.
I really enjoyed the insights into the The Office and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but I felt there wasn’t enough. I think I was expecting more “behind the scenes” stories of her and cast members.
Overall, I do not think the book lives up to the Ellie we all know and love on TV. But it’s okay to not have an enthralling, dramatic back story. As a memoir though I feel the “rise to fame” early 20s struggle should have been there for it to be a memoir worth purchasing.
I do think that she should record her own audio for this, as I think her rendition of her own writing style would be an amusing audio book.
Ellie girl, I love you. From one privileged white girl to another – keep rockin’ – but maybe leave the pages of another book to someone with a deeper story to tell.

Ellie Kemper is not only a wonderful actress and comedienne, but now also a great writer. I was engaged from the very beginning of the book, when learning about her childhood and how she grew into adulthood. Her observations about becoming an adult, getting married, and having children is done in a very real, yet very funny way. What a gem this book is. Maybe not the particular section on her husband's feet, but otherwise :) I would definitely recommend it!

This was a quick read, and fun, but all the “look at me, i’m So quirky” stories started to feel repetitive after awhile. I really like Ellie Kemper but this book just wasn’t for me.

Provided by Net Galley

I really wanted to love this book. It starts out with her talking about how it was her turn but maybe that was the problem... I have read many of the other books from Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Mindy Kaling and it seemed too similar to them, but without as much heart. The stories were cute but very surface level. She seemed very much like the characters she plays. I would recommend for anyone that wants a quick, light read without much substance.

I watched the Office occasionally and never watched Ellie on her other show but I have seen her on interviews and the Today show and found her to be authentic and funny. That is what this read is. Not my usual type of reading but found this to be funny and entertaining. I enjoyed it.

I really enjoy Ellie Kemper's acting, especially on The Office and was excited to see she'd written a memoir! And while I did enjoy this, it was not quite as delicious as other celebrity memoirs which I read to get a sense of background and world building to see how they became what and who they became. This was a fun series of humorous essays and I'd love to see Kemper write again in a few decades.

I adore Ellie Kemper. I do. That being said this book was perhaps almost to on the nose light for me. I appreciated her awkward run ins and situations but in her effort to keep it funny I didn’t really connect to her story. I think fans of her work will like this book if nothing more than for a little escapism.

Ellie Kemper is funny, with an amazing unique personality that will take readers though her life as a up and coming actress. The story is happy and inspiring and full of love that will have readers wanting to see Ellie Kemper on TV and in real life.

While the story drags on and sometimes is a little to much of the same information it gives a wonderful insight into this woman and her comedic dreams and one day her dreams come true. I love her backstage stories and for those who loved her in The Office this is a must read book.

Laughing so Hard you Pee that is too funny and so may will be able to connect with her just from her honest story telling.



Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Scribner for the advance copy of Ellie Kemper My Squirrel Days

I really enjoyed this book. I kept picking it up and wanting to read it even when I was sick and normally would just watch TV. Any book that includes The Office, Parks and Recreation, The Sound of Music, and Jakob Dylan is a great friend of mine. The book is funny in the offbeat way you would expect from Kemper, and there are enough laugh-out-loud moments, insights into a comedic actor's life, and celebrity tidbits to keep the book interesting.

Funny book by the star of The Office and Kimmy Schmidt. Tells of her early years as well as hysterical moments with celebrities and on set adventures.

I loved Ellie Kemper in The Office and Bridesmaids so I thought this would be an interesting read. I feel like she is a bit young for a memoir but it was interesting to find out more about her life growing up and before she hit it big.
My fav parts were about the Office and working with Tina Fey (because, well, Tina Fey!!!) I could hear her voice in my head as I read along so I did laugh throughout and overall it's a fun, easy, happy little read.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of My Squirrel Days.

As celebrity memoirs go, this one is mostly fluff. That being said, it was well-written and a quick, enjoyable read. While the primary audience will be Kemper's fans, even those unfamiliar with the actress/author will find the title accessible.

LOVED this book! I have always enjoyed watching Ellie beginning on the Office and her journey into fame and now lead role in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.. This book documents her progression through stardom in an Ellie style fashion! I felt as if I was having a conversation with her. I found myself laughing out loud and couldn't put the book down!

This book made me love Ellie more than I already did! Hearing about her awkward interactions with Tina Fey or how she let her bridesmaids role take over her life and learning about what she enjoys as her choice of "throw up" on a movie set make for funny read.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

This is a fun, breezy read from "Kimmy Schmidt"s effervescent lead. I enjoyed getting to know this high energy and highly driven star through childhood memories, celebrity encounters, successes, and numerous disasters. Be sure to read all the footnotes.