One of my reading goals for 2024 is to read more non-fiction as over the past years, I have just been more focused on fiction reads. I have aimed to read a minimum of 12 non-fiction books over the year. My first one was a celebrity memoir from Mara Wilson who we know mostly for her role as Matilda. Mara also starred in Miracle on 34th Street, Mrs Doubtfire, and A Simple Wish. In this memoir, Mara talks about the pressure of being a Good Girl in Hollywood and how even the slightest untoward step can turn you into a bad girl or in her case a spoilt brat. She talks about how her life changed as her mum died when she was filming A Simple Wish and the impact it caused on being out in public and all they could see was Matilda and the image of her rather than Mara herself. I felt for Mara as she was going through her grief as a child and still having to have this perfect image for the world as they saw Matilda as a role model. The other part of her book also talked about her interactions with other actors including Robin Williams and Francis Capra who we all know as Weevil on Veronica Mars, to her being brought up Jewish and then coming out of the closet as a queer/bisexual- though she prefers the term queer. If you love celebrity memoirs, then Good Girls Don't is the read for you as this one flowed brilliantly and felt like a quick read too. Also, I love reading memoirs as they personalize the celebrity and make them seem more of a "real person" rather than just a Hollywood star.

Good Girls Don't
by Mara Wilson
Pub Date 19 Apr 2023
Scribd,Scribd Originals
Biographies & Memoirs


I am reviewing a copy of Good Girls Don't through Scribd and Netgalley:


Scribd Original writer-actor Mara Wilson explores the good-girl-versus-bad-girl tropes from early childhood through adolescence and teen life. In Good Girls Don't, Wilson bravely examines both the friendships she formed as a child actor in Hollywood and her complex family relationships.


Taking a look back at Matilda, Mrs. Doubtfire, Miracle on 34th Street, and A Simple Wish, Wilson shares the joys and challenges of growing up in the public eye while coping with the grief of losing her mother to cancer at the age of eight. While her contentious grandmother stepped in and her hardworking, grief-stricken father grappled with raising a young daughter and four siblings, she acted out to assuage her own sadness.



Wilson also discusses religion and struggle to adhere to the learned family values of her "Conservadox" upbringing while exploring clandestine friendships, like those with Skye, that went against the "good" behavior her parents tried to instill in her. As seen from the perspective of a highly intelligent and emotionally vulnerable child, we learn about her favorite TV shows, films, and risqué pop and rock music.


In order to discard a people-pleasing mindset, Wilson examines past experiences with fans. Aside from the challenges of maintaining a significant fan base - including her complicated relationship with Edward, the college-age young man who administrated her website — she also worries about others' opinions about her actions.


Wilson reflects on the moments that led up to this next phase. While studying theater at New York University, she begins to accept her extraordinary past while discovering what being "good" really means.


I give Good Girls Don't five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I grew up watching Mara Wilson. From Mrs. Doubtfire, to Miracle On 34th Street, to Matilda, I enjoyed all the films she was in a child. More recently as an adult I have enjoyed following her career as a writer. This is why when I saw Good Girls Don't on Netgalley, I immediately wanted to read it.

These days Mara Wilson has more of a focus on writer and reflecting than on acting. Inside of this short memoir, she reflected on what it was like to grow up as a child actor in Hollywood while also wanting to have a normal life. She discussed her desire to be perfect and feeling like she would never reach those expectations. It is really sad to think how constantly being in the public eye can exacerbate these feelings.

Overall, I found Good Girl's Don't to be witty and engaging but also very short. I was surprised how quickly it ended and felt like there could have been more to it. I wanted to read more of Mara Wilson's experiences and how they impacted her interpretation of a "good girl". Yet, I can understand why she may have wanted to keep it short. This is just a snapshot of her life but it is enough to remind people that there is someone behind the child actress we all claim to know and love. The bottom line is that we will only ever know as much as she wants us to know and honestly that is the way it should be. She doesn't owe us anything.

I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting glimpse into someone's life and the development of who they are. I imagine that it was not easy and I appreciated the author being vulnerable to share all of those aspects with her readers. I hope that she writes another book again in the future and will have even more insights. Thank you for the opportunity to read this one.

I read Where Am I Now a few years ago, and I really enjoyed Mara Wilsons' return to look at some parts of her life, especially the difficult time right after her mother died, that she wasn't ready to share in her previous book. She talks a lot about the pressure on both her specifically and child stars in general to be a certain way and the affect it had on her. It's a quick, fun read.

This was wonderful. A great quick read. Mara Wilson tells her story beautifully, and her experience as a kid who just wants to please the people around her is so relatable.

As a child I loved Matilda. It was one of my favorite books and then when the movie came out, I really felt a connection to the actress who played Matilda, Mara Wilson. Her journey is chronicled in this memoir. When I was older, I heard the stories about her mom passing away during the filming, how other famous people stepped into her life and stepped up. This story made me sad for her. I totally relate to her "good girls don't" upbringing. I was always the one in my friends group trying to stay the good girl. How much harder it would have been as someone living in the literal spotlight.

This really resonated with me! I really appreciated Mara Wilson's openness and vulnerability about her anxiety and how her grief and insecurities played out throughout her life. In so many ways Mara Wilson is frozen in time as Matilda to me and her writing does a fantastic job of reminding readers that she is a real person and not a character.

Thoughtful, honest, and humble, "Good Girls Don't" is the new memoir by child actor Mara Wilson. At only 82 pages, it's a quick but enlightening peek into her life from early childhood to young adulthood. Written using a conversational tone, it feels like Mara is talking directly to you as you read. She captivates you instantly and keeps you engrossed, making it nearly impossible not to zip through the entire book in one sitting.

Sharing her experiences as a friend, daughter, and celebrity, Mara comes across as down-to-earth and completely relatable. The more you learn about her, the more you like her. She's clearly a good person. Yet as engaging as the book is, there's something missing. Since "Good Girls Don't" ultimately revolves around Mara's need to please everyone and be seen as a good girl, you expect her to impart some insight, wisdom, or advice in the final chapter(s). An overall message to the reader, perhaps, that ties everything together and makes the book's point. But it's not there.

Don't get me wrong. Without it, "Good Girls Don't" is still a quick, interesting read. If you like celeb memoirs and subscribe to Scribd, I highly recommend it. It's well written and entertaining. Although it missed the mark with me, you might love it. At the very least, you'll like it. I did.

(3.5 stars rounded up to 4)

I enjoyed her memoir but this was a little all over the place. I didn’t really get why she felt like she had to be “good” or what that meant. It felt rushed and slapped together a bit.