Title: This is Really HappeningAuthor: Erin Chack
Publisher: Razorbill
Genres: Biography, Non-Fiction
Publication Date: April 25, 2017
Rating:
BuzzFeed senior writer Erin Chack provides a collection of personal essays for the Snapchat generation.
Erin recounts everything from meeting her soulmate at age 14 to her first chemotherapy session at age 19 to what really goes on behind the scenes at a major Internet media company.
She authentically captures the agony and the ecstasy of the millennial experience, whether it's her first kiss ("Sean's tongue! In my mouth! Slippery and wet like a slug in the rain.") or her struggles with anxiety ("When people throw caution to the wind, I am stuck imagining the poor soul who has to break his back sweeping caution into a dustpan").
Yet Erin also offers a fresh perspective on universal themes of resilience and love as she writes about surviving cancer, including learning of her mother's own cancer diagnosis within the same year, and her attempts to hide the diagnosis from friends to avoid "un-normaling" everything.
❃ I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ❃
Book Review: This is Really Happening by Erin Chack
This is Really Happening by Erin Chack is a memoir that contains a variety of stories. It includes Erin Chack’s experience with cancer to childhood memories. The writing is intimate and hilarious, which I really enjoyed. This is an inspiring and quick read that will definitely make the reader laugh.
❀ Mix of serious and hilarious topics
This book has the perfect mix of serious topics and hilarious encounters. Erin Chack was diagnosed with cancer at a young age, and describes the hardship of things such as shaving your head. The whole book isn’t about her overcoming this, however, which provided some comic relief. There are some wildly entertaining stories, such as the time Erin peed her pants in elementary school, which created a nice balance. It makes sense that this book is so funny, since the author is a writer for Buzzfeed.
❀ Funny Stories
One of my favourite stories in this collection is “Find Your Carrot.” This one tells the story of Erin sneaking onto the roof of a building and being overly paranoid about getting caught and fired from her job. There is an epic plot twist that I was not expecting at all, and I was laughing so hard by the end. I related to Erin’s paranoia so much, and I think that this story has got to be the funniest in the book.
❀ Enjoyable Writing Style
I adored Erin Chack’s writing style. As I was reading, it felt more like a conversation than a book, if you know what I mean. Erin really tells it like it is and has such a funny tone in her writing. She has an interesting outlook on life, and in 240 pages, it really felt like I knew her personally. I haven’t read too many memoirs, but this one has got to be up there with my favourites.
❀ Highly Recommend
This is Really Happening by Erin Chack is a memoir with a huge range of stories–from serious to light and back again. The writing style is very personal and reading it is like an intimate conversation. I would recommend this book, especially to younger adults.
About Erin Chack
Erin Chack was born and raised in New Jersey, where she formed strong opinions about bagels. As a senior writer at BuzzFeed dot com the website her posts have received over 250 million views to date. She lives in Astoria, Queens, with plants that are definitely still alive and not dead haha why would you even suggest that. This Is Really Happening is her first book.
About The Candid Cover
Olivia ❀ Canadian YA book blogger, Starbucks lover, & professional bibliophile.
I am soooo glad you enjoyed this one! Wonderful review, as always 🙂 Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Brittany @ Brittany’s Book Rambles
I am so glad that I gave this one a try. It is such a great story. 🙂
Great review! This one sounds like something I might like to read.
I hope that you enjoy it as much as i did! 🙂
This sounds like an incredible read and I’m glad you enjoyed it! Nice review! 🙂
I don’t typically read non-fiction either, but I can’t wait to dive into this one! This sounds like such an important book, and the author seems like she would be easy to relate to and a fantastic writer. I have an ARC of this one that I’m starting next, so I’m pretty excited. Glad to see you enjoyed it, and amazing review!
Yay!! I think that you are really going to love it! 🙂
I don’t read a lot of non-fiction books, but there are several that I have my eye on. This is now one of them. I love that there is humor, and heart, all in one book. I don’t read a ton of Buzzfeed, so I don’t know if I know who this is, but I would love to learn about her!
Something about this one just drew me in and begged me to jump into it. I have a feeling that you are going to enjoy it as well. 🙂
I love the humour in this book. I don’t read NF often but this sounds too good to miss.
I don’t read that often,too busy.This sounds good.
Great for someone young to write about their cancer struggle. An inspiration to all
Sounds like an interesting memoir!
thanks for your review. this sounds like a good book
I dont think my first comment went through. thanks for your review. this looks like a good book