Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I've been a fan of Rachel Bloom's for a while now and this memoir did not disappoint! Definitely recommend for fans of any of her content: the early youtube videos, Crazy Ex Girlfriend etc.

I loved this book! I listened to the audio which Rachel read which I think made it even more delightful. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is one of my favorite shows and I absolutely love Rachel's whole attitude. This was one of my favorite celebrity essay books ever.

Rachel Bloom is my absolute favorite! I fell in love with her show, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, and this book was in the same vein. She is a hilarious story teller. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

This was so much fun! If you’re a fan of Rachel Bloom then you already know what to expect – this was perfectly her brand of humor and (sometimes cringe) silliness, mixed in with interesting stories and insights about her personal and professional life.

The highlight for me was definitely the mini-musical she wrote and included (and if you listen to the audiobook you’ll get to hear her perform it!).

If you love Rachel Bloom or Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, don’t miss this one!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I knew I would love this book and it did not disappoint. I literally lol'd at many points. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was an amazing show and Bloom proves to be a talented comedy writer in all formats. This book not only includes excerpts from poems and diaries from her childhood, there's also Harry Potter fanfic that is amazing (and a footnote caveat about how JK sucks now) and stories from high school, college, writing on other shows and some CXG. I would read a whole other book just on CXG and I hope she writes it sometime soon.

a somewhat perplexing memoir from the writer and star of "crazy ex-girlfriend."

maybe i missed something, but the entire first half of the book i kept wondering when the book was going to stop feeling mean spirited and start getting funny. perhaps bloom thought she was being tongue-in-cheek or perhaps she thought she was being sardonic, but neither of those were clear from the text. bloom's voice develops in the second half of the book, when it becomes clear that insecurity plays a big role in her life... which may also explain some of the less-engaging sections of the book like the section "narrated by her dog" and all the discussions about her bowel movements. after all, no one else will be able to embarrass her if she does it first!

thank you to netgalley and hodder & stoughton for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a DNF for me. I think it was my mood. I will update my review if I revisit this title at a point in the future.

Rachel Bloom’s characteristic humor shines through here! She is hilarious and delightful, and I think this was a great memoir.

Rachel Bloom has created a funny and entirely relatable memoir about always feeling weird. The essays range from embarrassing moments that she lays bare for readers to her own mental health and struggle with OCD. Rachel skillfully juggles these windows into her life story all while helping readers understand that they are not alone in feeling like an outsider in a world of normal people.
The name Rachel Bloom was new to me. I have not seen Crazy Ex-Girlfriend or any of her other work. I chose to read Rachel's memoir based solely on the description (and maybe a little on the nods the cover and the title give to the 90s). The fact that I was not already aware of the author's background did not diminish my enjoyment of the book. Beyond enjoying the laughs that were offered up, I now feel more comfortable with the fact there are no "normal" people and if there are, they certainly aren't a strangely awesome as me.

This book wasn't for me. I didn't know who Rachel Bloom was before reading this. I liked the title and thought I would get a moving memoir. I wasn't ready for all of the potty talk that takes place in this book.

Witty and self-deprecating in all the best ways! Rachel Bloom gives a behind the scenes look of how she came to be and came to fame.

I really wanted to like I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom. It has a fantastic cover, it's perfectly instagrammable with a pink shade and a 90s vibe! It has so many great reviews on goodreads, and I've never watched Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, but I've heard good things about the show.

Needless to say, I was excited to start this one! I got the audiobook from the library too, and I thought that would add to the experience, but the whole thing fell flat for me. I don't know if it's because I am unfamiliar with the author? Maybe I would have liked it better had I watched the show first. I did enjoy the last quarter of the book more so than the rest.

Okay, so between the Baby Sitters Club-esque cover, the Ariel title reference, and the comedy writing bonafides, you’d think this would be an automatic obsession for me. But it wasn’t.

Rachel Bloom talks about a ton of different topics. She approaches being bullied and having OCD from a serious place, but with much humor, which were some of my favorite parts. She also frequently pontificates about scatological experiences, AKA: she talks a whole lot about poop. More than one would normally expect in a memoir, but you do you, ya know?

Bloom also talks about her time as a writer and star is Crazy Ex Girlfriend, which I’ve never watched. 🤦🏼‍♀️ I think I would have connected more with her stories if I knew her work better.

I love me a female comedy writer/actress memoir/essays. I’ve read them all: Fey, Irby, Ephron, Poehler, Kaling, Sedaris, Rae, Dunham, Wong, Haddish, West, Crosley, Robinson, Graham, Slate, Mullally, and more. And each one of them has my heart. But I never fully connected with this one. Mostly I think we’re just not the same kind of weird.

I thought about giving this a 2 star rating, but she had a whole chapter about obsessing over negative comments and reviews so I bumped it up to 3 because I am as non-confrontational as one can get. Plus, the average rating is 4.07 on Goodreads so I am in the minority here.

I listened to this one, which I’m sure made it even better. Give this one a listen if you’re into chapters sung like musical theatre, writing yourself into fairy tales, and well, poop.

Loved this book. I love Rachel Blooms humor and stories. As a fan of crazy ex girlfriend this was a must read!

I absolutely love Rachel Bloom so I was so excited to see she was writing a book. She has such a candid, no BS way of making you feel normal, accepted, ok to be who you are. Plus she’s hilarious!!

I have been a fan of Rachel Bloom ever since I started watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend a few years ago. (One of my friends said that Rachel reminds her of me on the show and I took that as a compliment.) I even saw her perform live in 2019 and she was even more hilarious! I also got the amazing honor of being able to interview her for Chick Lit Central this past year. (I know it was done through her publicist, but she still shared it in her Instagram stories.) Needless to say, I couldn't wait to pick up her memoir and added it to my five-book pile as soon as I received it.

Normal People was incredibly funny right off the bat. I was laughing out loud a lot and getting strange looks from my husband and kids as a result. It was impossible not to laugh though. The chapter about poop was especially hilarious. There were a lot of relatable moments throughout the book, especially in regards to dealing with bullies. She also has a lot of Broadway references, including a whole chapter that is written as a musical and can be listened to at her website for the full effect. I even liked the Harry Potter chapter and I'm not into Harry Potter at all.

A few other notes:
I love that Welcome to the Dollhouse was her favorite movie. I watched it countless times in college and a bit beyond.

I was glad to see that she acknowledged that the title was based on "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid, as I had that going through my head when I first saw it.

Two funny coincidences: I had been talking to my kids about my favorite episode of Saved By the Bell and then was reading the book and she mentioned singing "I'm So Excited." I also was talking with my kids that same evening about the movie Scrooged and she mentioned Ebenezer Scrooge at a different point in the book. We're just so in tune with each other!

This book is definitely only for adults (my younger son kept trying to peek over my shoulder and I had to guard the pages). It rivals Dear Girls (which I'm somewhat currently reading) in the mature language department.

I really enjoyed Normal People and could definitely see myself being friends with Rachel if we ever were to meet in person.

RATING: 3 STARS
2020; Grand Central Publishing

I will start this review with...I am not the audience that this collection of personal essays were written for. Honestly, I requested this book solely based on the nostalgic 90s teen cover art, and title. Reading the blurb on the inside jacket, I saw that Bloom was an actress for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (it has singing and comedy). I hadn't, and still haven't, watched the show so I didn't know the sense of humour I was going to get. The essays reminded me a little bit of the show Girls, and personal essays by Jenny Slate, Lena Dunham and women born in the late 80s/early 90s. I rated this book a three, because it was well written, and I assume for fans of Bloom and the show will really enjoy this book. I didn't find it that interesting, surprise surprise as I didn't get the background of the show. I also didn't find myself that curious to see the show. I read all the star power blurbs on the back of the book, so I am sure this one is just me.

***I received a complimentary copy of this hardcover book and ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

This book was crazy and funny all wrapped into a quick read. Rachel Bloom is so talented and I enjoy her work. I also listened to the audio along with reading and it made it even better.

Rachel Bloom's new collection of personal essays hit pretty close to home and brought me out of a major reading slump. I've long been a fan of CRAZY EX GIRLFRIEND, the musical comedy in which she stars and writes. BUT, Rachel and I also went to NYU at the same time and traveled in the same social circles. So while this book didn't reference the show quite as much as I had hoped, reading about how she navigated our alma mater and its drama school, well - drama - brought me back to those old times.

In addition, Rachel writes a lot about growing up as the geeky theatre kid: something to which I certainly relate, as well. I feel like we lived very similar childhoods and I caught myself laughing out loud and shaking my head a LOT.

This was a quick read, and also very entertaining, especially the parts to which I could so closely relate. Near the end, however, the writing began to get a bit repetitive, and, throughout, quite a bit of it felt forced for humor. Still, all of the inside theater and NYU jokes made it enjoyable. Plus, how can you not LOVE that cover, which is reminiscent of The BSC and Judy Blume nostalgia?

I recommend this one as a lighthearted, quick read that creatively tackles some difficult subjects such as mental health, bullying, awkward sex stories, and threatened miscarriage. You'll especially love it if you were a theatre kid.