this is a really fun memoir for fans of the karate kid and cobra kai! a quick light read. i anticipated a little more about his life but it makes sense it's primarily focused on the karate kid universe.

I am a Ralph Macchio super fan. (Don't tell him I actually went to the college that he said he would have gone to if he had gone to college just because of him). I know this book is supposed to be a compendium of everything Karate Kid and Cobra Kai, but personally the parts I enjoyed most were about the rest of his life outside of the Karate Kid and Cobra Kai. This autobiography/memoir discusses the Karate Kid/Cobra Kai franchise at length, so if you have any questions about those entities, you'll probably get an answer here. I recommend this book for any fans of the 80s, entertainment memoirs (did you know Ralph was considered for the role of Marty McFly?), The Karate Kid, Cobra Kai, and especially MIyagi or Pat Morita.

Although a memoir, this is clearly described as being quite specific to the influence that The Karate Kid has had on the authors life.

Ralph Macchio covers the nearly 40 years he has lived with this wonderful movie in his resume. He shares how he won the role, his relationships and memories with other cast members, experiences with fans, how he grew from wanting to distance himself from the role to coming full-circle and embracing it with the current series Cobra Kai, and plenty in between.

I’ve loved the Karate Kid since I first saw it when I was young. This was a fun and quick read that will surely have a long wait list at our library. I’m excited to chat with patrons about it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for access to the digital ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I was so excited when I saw that Ralph Macchio had written a book. I have been a fan of his since seeing him in The Outsiders, The Karate Kid, and of course My Cousin Vinny. I was also fortunate enough to have a front row seat to see him on stage in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" when he toured many years ago.

I was however surprised that the focus of this book is really "The Karate Kid" and "Cobra Kai". it has been quite some time since I have watched "The Karate Kid" so I couldn't recall all of the moments that he talked about in this book. However it did make me want to go back and watch it again. He does talk briefly about his other films, and others that he auditioned for but didn't get. He is just a likeable person, so this book was fun. I however feel like he might have missed an opportunity to tell his whole story in this book. Maybe one day he will write another one about behind the scenes of his other projects.

2 and a 1/2 stars. I did enjoy the early movies but haven't watched any of the new series so I couldn't really relate to a lot of the book. I did enjoy the author's stories of his early experiences in acting.