I liked this book but found certain parts extremely sad now that she's passed. I think she was very excited for her future with her family and her juicy tell all when she turned 85.

I really enjoyed this book! I’m so sad I read it after she passed away because it made me miss her a lot, though. Her energy just radiates. I didn’t know Chris Colfer write an episode of Glee, the details of her drama with Lea, that she dated Big Sean and what she did in her acting career (as a kid, before Glee). Really good, informative book. Now I’m gonna go rewatch her slay on Glee as Santana, brb!

3.5/5, rounded up because the audiobook Naya narrated was like having a conversation with a friend.

Very wild to be reading this when Naya went missing…but I learned a lot about glee, she’s super cool!

I purchased this book on Tuesday as part of my women-authored-memoir spree. So far I’ve read Mara Wilson’s and Abby Wambach’s; I have two book club books to read before I can dive into Diane Guerrero’s book. As evidenced by the photo I’ve included, this book was perfect as the fall equivalent of a good beach read – enjoy it with a cup of cocoa or tea, and be ready to go through it in one sitting.

Ms. Rivera is best known to most of us as Santana from Glee, but this is not a Glee memoir (and that is a good thing). The ten chapters each focus on different phases or components of her life, whether her early days acting as a preschooler, her financial troubles as a young woman, or her love life. Each chapter wraps up with a few bullet points under the ‘sorry’ banner, and a few under ‘not sorry.’

Some phrases or attitudes bummed me out (while at the end of her chapter on her anorexia she acknowledges therapy and/or medication might be helpful for some, earlier in the chapter she makes it seem as though anorexia is generally something one can get one’s self out of), but overall she’s an interesting storyteller who has some good advice to share with the world. I mostly enjoyed her writing, and some of the throw-away sentences are laugh-out-loud funny.

There are some stories in here that some people might consider ‘gossipy,’ but this is not an industry tell-all. This is someone who has led both an interesting and at times very relatable life telling her story. It’s definitely at least worth picking up from the library.

Rest in peace, Angel.
I’ve loved Naya since the first time I turned on Glee, and was devastated to hear of her tragic ending. Waited a long time to read the book because I didn’t want to ruin my idea that everyone on Glee was perfect and best friends with each other. Love that she didn’t explicitly shit talk anyone, but there were still things that rubbed me the wrong way. However, I think her bluntness is admirable and her message that you can’t please everyone is clear.

3.5/5⭐️

Loved hearing her voice again

I listened to the audio, and while I liked her narration, I didn't like how the story jumped from one thing to another. Also, I respect people's religion and decisions that they make, but she got a little preachy a few times, strangely enough. Other parts were very "empowering self-help book." All in all, it was disjointed.