My Squirrel Days (Ellie Kemper)

*I was graciously given an advanced copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.*

This book will be released in stores on October 9th- keep an eye out for it at your favorite bookseller, or follow the link attached to the picture to order it through Amazon!

I was obsessed with The Office when it was on the air; my husband and I, little known fact, worked

My Squirrel Days by Ellie Kemper

together before dating and then even after. We were, basically, the Jim and Pam of our office. We were darlings, everyone loved us, and even though I no longer worked at the company, the owner threw our wedding shower for us.
When the show started shaking up the paradigm, and no longer had Pam as the receptionist, I was hesitant about how to feel about this Erin character. But after a little while, the writers found her groove and she became fun and enjoyable.
When The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was released on Netflix, I was excited to see Ellie Kemper exploring a complex but still funny role (and fucking love the supporting cast, to be honest.)
And then I saw on NetGalley that she was releasing an essay book, so of course I had to at least try to get a copy. I was shocked when I did! How exciting! This was a book by a CELEBRITY, not just some author. (Authors, I'm joking. I really hope you know you are my people.)
It was quite fun to read! I was actually laughing out loud while reading it, which my husband apparently finds creepy, but I cannot help that Ellie Kemper is basically my inner narrator. There was only one essay that I didn't find particularly entertaining, but you know what's great about essay books? If you don't finish one essay it isn't the end of the world. I skipped it, figuring if she referenced it later I'd just suck it up and go back.
Her writing reads exactly like she sounds. Her voice was in my head the whole time I was reading it, which was confusing, because sometimes it felt like I was reading something I would have written about myself and how the hell did Ellie Kemper get inside my fucking head?
I know this isn't the kind of thing I usually review on here, but this is definitely one I recommend. I especially find essay collections like this to be great palate cleansers between other reads. (I always have a Carrie Fisher on hand to read a few sections of in between fantastical worlds.)
So think of Ellie Kemper as a sorbet course between your next few reads. I feel confident there are smiles and giggles in there for everyone.

The final score:

The Book
Just so fun! Great stories told in an honest voice.
 🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Writing
Kemper has a tone that stays true to her persona, without crossing the line into "am I reading stories from Ellie Kemper or Kimmy Schmidt" territory.
🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

Readability
Took me about a day - it was so quick and easy to keep going!
🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️