Member Reviews
I really love drew. I love her content so I really wanted to like this book. The bones are there. I think this could have been a better book with more workshopping and edits. It reads like prompts to essay questions. There are nuggets of gold here, but the actual writing needed to be more polished. I think this was meant for an audience in their early twenties, and I am not that.
Overall I enjoyed this. I love Drew's TikTok and I think she's smart, funny, and inspiring.
This book I think is geared toward an audience a lil younger than me--and that's ok! I think for younger folks this will be a fantastic read; I def could have used it in my teens and into my early 20s. Being that I am an Elder now (lmao) I have read a lot of similar modern feminist manifestos so I can't say that much here felt particularly original or groundbreaking to me specifically.
That being said, I did enjoy reading Drew's take! I especially enjoyed the chapters "The Fallacy of 'Leftover Women' and other Misogynistic Myths," "I'd Rather Die Alone," and "It's Okay to Be Mean."
I’m a Drew fan so I was excited to read this! I think this might be most impactful for those that are young (high school age) and don’t know as much about feminist theory since I don’t think it added much to that field. I did enjoy and appreciate the personal anecdotes and big sis type advice at the end. I love that she ended the story where it started, with having been fired and starting her TikTok journey. I’m glad I read this. My favorite quote comes from Drew's friend about her: “Sometimes when I don’t want to speak up for myself, I imagine you doing it.” From now on, I'll channel Drew when I need to stand up for myself.
I’ve watched Drew’s TikTok videos on and off for the last three years, so I was really excited to be afforded the ARC of her first book! Even though I read the kindle version of this, I’ve grown to know her voice, sense of humor, and cackle to the point I was able to read this in her voice. I swear I even heard her cackle after some of the absolutely feral clapbacks she dropped 😂 An audiobook of this narrated by her would be hilarious.
Some of Drew’s experiences as a woman, I’ve also shared and some I have not (and of course, vise versa). But some of them I deeply relate to and empathize with. She’s right, this is a man’s world. Well, it always has been thus far in history, that is- but we fight and will continue to fight for a better future for women. As a woman, I can attest to all Drew said; we face all sorts of extra societal pressures, are targeted in many ways most men will never experience, are sexualized from young ages, and are STILL somehow seen as inferior to men although we’ve proved time and time again our limitless abilities. While I don’t believe all men are terrible, I KNOW that being a woman is not easy. It’s HARD. Honestly, 5/10 recommend.
With my love and support for Drew’s content on the table, I DID agree to an honest review of this book and I have to say that I did find it particularly difficult to get through. It seemed incessantly repetitive and over-explained. I think this book would have suited me better 10 years ago, at the ripe age of twenty, when I was getting out of my first long-term relationship with my first truly terrible man. My favorite part about this book, aside from the roasts, are all of the uplifting, empowering quotes I was able to gain from Drew’s messages and experiences. I love looking back on my favorite book quotes and I will be adding several from this book to my notebook!
There are a few views I do not share with Drew (which is ok and respectable as two different individuals with different experiences)- one being “all men” are terrible men (AKA: misandry). The fact that Drew battles misogynists by being a misandrist is all very hypocritical to me. There are two quotes in particular from this book that I find rather ironic and off-putting. The first is when she said, “Being mean is an effective tool for asserting the dominance that exists within all of us…” First of all, if that ain’t the exact kind of outrageous nonsense I’d expect to hear out of a misogynistic, bigot then I don’t know what is 😂 The second quote, “I truly believe that my confidence does not come at the expense of anyone else’s; it does not dim or stomp out other people’s lights. How can she say that with honesty when her career is built on her lack of respect for men as a whole? I don’t raise that question as a woman who stands for misogynistic men (because I absolutely don’t), but I do raise that question as a human being who doesn’t believe gender has any affect on lack of morals, basic respect, and ability for compassion. There’s just as many terrible women in this world. We shouldn’t be worrying about the correlation between gender and basic decency, we should simply be worrying about being GOOD HUMANS in general, regardless of how we identify. Don’t get me wrong, I support Drew in her mission to protect and empower women wholeheartedly and I do my fair share of roasting, but that doesn’t mean I don’t also want to shake her shoulders at times and say, “GIRL STOP GIVING THESE TERRIBLE MEN ATTENTION. ANY ATTENTION AT ALL.” Whether it is positive OR negative attention, it is still attention to men (and well, kids). That’s all they want, they are getting it, and in the end they won. Sometimes no reaction and no attention speaks the loudest. Show them they aren’t worth your time or energy. Luckily, I’m a grown woman who can still respect someone else who doesn’t share the same opinions and beliefs as me (thanks mom and dad) and more people in general should adapt that mindset.
I respect Drew to no end for her ability to allow herself to be so vulnerable and open in this book. While she wrote this books for women, “terrible men” also have access to reading it. She knows that and still published anyway. That’s valor. She admitted to weaknesses and mistakes, owned poor past reactions and decisions, and she’s shown personal growth in many different areas. That all requires a lot of fortitude.
I also really enjoyed learning about drew’s childhood, friends, and family. Also, what is this Somoan-style POTATO CRAB SALAD she speaks of and how do I get some immediately?! Sounds delicious 😍
Thank you NetGalley and AUWA for the ARC edition of this book!
This right here. YES.
I have followed Drew on Tiktok for several years. The way she destroys men that go after women and minorities - it's amazing to see them put in their place. So when I saw she was coming out with a book, I have never requested something so fast on Netgalley.
As someone almost a decade older than Drew, there were still so many take-aways from this book. I loved getting to know more about her personally, and then just random tips and inspo sprinkled in within the book. I WISH there was someone like Drew when I was a teen and early adulthood. The amount of times I have let others, especially men, put me down and disrespect me is astounding. I had no idea how to even respond.
This book was so inspiring and I'm hoping to remember this when the moment comes.
I loved this!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this and I know everyone that picks it up will as well. This will be in everyone's bookcases, and whoever hasn't read it SHOULD.
Amazing addition to modern intersectionality broken into convenient segments that I will be happy to revisit. The weaving in of Drew's personal experiences and observations are relatable and insightful.
Oh, and Drew is absolutely hilarious in case anyone hasn't realised yet??? Hilarious.
A honest and uplifting book, that makes me hopeful for the direction the women of our generation and younger are heading towards.
As a personal note, I really liked the honesty in Drews much later chapter on motherhood and was teary-eyed to hear my own thoughts put into words so well.
I quite enjoy Drew’s videos on Tiktok and other platforms but this memoir just wasn’t for me. Personally I don’t think it was very well written and didn’t do a very good job at grabbing my attention
Like many people (mostly and especially women), I fell in love with Drew Afualo when I stumbled across her TikTok account. Her fierce defense of women and ruthless takedown of awful men are just *chef's kiss.*
This book was so much more than I thought it would be; I assumed it would be full of quips and sarcasm -- which it was -- but I didn't expect it to be so inspirational, well-researched, and powerful. She has such a strong voice, and it's incredible being able to learn about how she got to where she is now.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Reading Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve was really like watching Drew on TikTok. I could hear her voice in my head. I was so excited to be able to read this ARC. Drew has been calling out misogynistic men on the internet for quite a while, and has blown up (rightfully so) due to this. Her book has jokes that land perfectly while also speaking about self-love and hammering home what the title suggests - accepting nothing less than what you deserve. Special thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC!
Arc provided by publisher through NetGalley! This was such an easy read! I really hope she records the audio because I read the whole thing in her voice! It was really amazing to see how far Drew has come! Her sister’s coming out story ripped my heart in two, I love that she was able to rectify that situation and that it didn’t negatively affect their long term relationship!! I’ve always been a fan of Drew’s but I love her even more now!
Thank you to NetGalley and AUWA for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
It’s been a long while since I’ve read a non-fiction book, as I’ve been focused on reading fiction for the most part. But I feel SO lucky to have had the opportunity to read Afualo’s debut early!
Afualo’s writing style was informative while still containing the wit and candor that she’s so well known for. While I haven’t been following her on social media for a long time, I do appreciate and love her content. Her book is a solid extension of her aforementioned content, making it as enjoyable as her posts. I flew through this book with ease and savouring every chapter happily.
I wouldn’t call this just a memoir or just a self-help book. Rather, it’s a perfect mash-up of the two, blending Afualo’s candid anecdotes with excellent advice on destroying the patriarchy, internal biases, and more. She brings her own life experiences (as well as other events that have occurred throughout the world) to strengthen her arguments. All of this forced me to examine my own experiences and question my own motives and thoughts at the time. I definitely learned a lot and will try my best to apply everything I’ve read in my everyday life.
What I loved most about Afualo’s book is how she hammers home the point that you, the reader, deserve the best. You deserve to be loved, to be surrounded by amazing people, and to not put up with any man’s crap. She stands by all of the above and makes sure that you know how loved and valued you should feel. As someone who has struggled a LOT with self-love, this was wonderful to see.
All in all, this was an excellent debut that I can’t recommend enough! If you need a serious pep talk on self-love and deserving better, this book is for you.
Loveeeeeee Drew. I seriously look up to her so much and admire her confidence. I really appreciate what she says in this book and think it’s so valuable to people everywhere (except for horrible men). It helps give me the confidence I need to stand up for myself. Also I LOVE the cover, it fits her so much.
Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this.
If there's one thing I love, it's Drew. As a fan of her tiktok videos for so long, I was so excited to see her release a book and it didn't disappoint at all. I love that she decided to go with a book like this instead of fiction because it's just another great way to see her personality. This made me love her 10 times more. I feel like every girl in their 20-30's should read this
Thank you for letting me review this arc!!
I’ve seen Drew of course through TikTok—I was interested in seeing her release a book!
This felt like I was watching one of her TikTok. An audiobook with her as the narrator would be epic. With that being said this felt like a good (although a bit repetitive) subject that feminists books have. I love that she put her experience but also multiple stages of life that made her her.
“Learning how to love yourself—like truly love yourself —is not easy. In fact, it might be one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do. But look, there’s only one person you’ll be with from the moment you are born until the moment you die. Give yourself a chance”
This was such a pleasure to read - Loud is accessible, engaging, and empowering in all of the right ways. Drew's voice shone beautifully throughout the book and kept me happily turning each page. I would highly recommend it to folks in their teens, 20s, and early 30s especially.
One thing I struggled with in terms of a memoir specifically, which Drew noted herself, is that she is in the early phases of her own journey, being in her late 20s. Nonetheless, she offers solid insight and thoughtful perspectives that I appreciated deeply.
Thank you the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review of this book!
Such a thoughtful and inspiring book. Reminded me so much of the connection women share that transcends our race, age and country we live in. Drew gave me so much to think about when it came to my relationship with myself, my friends and other women in general.
Immensely fun and enormously funny, just like Drew. Fantastic for anyone who enjoys her - and for anyone who needs to hear the healing power of her laugh!
A true role model!
Drew has been a constant in my life since I happened upon her in the pandemic. She a true delight and has made all women be proud to be who they are.
If you were late to the Drew Afualo train this book will catch you up. I consume most of the media she produces so this book was like listening to a story an old friend is telling. She does a great job of balancing her life story and speaking on problems all women face.
A big thank you to Drew and Deison for talking about NetGalley on their podcast, two idiot girls, because without that I would not have been able to get an advance copy of the book.
Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for a copy of this book.
I plan to read at least one nonfiction book a year, and this was it. Now that I have reached my quota, I am going back to fiction land. Bye.
So honored to receive an arc of this wonderful read!!
I've been a follower of Drew for a few years now on TikTok so supporting her is important to me.
This was a wonderful read. Like many readers said it was like a letter from your baddie BFF.
It was uplifting and inspiring.
I will be recommending this to every young woman I can.
first of all i have to thank drew's podcast, two idiot girls, because without it i wouldn't have known i could request this ARC through netgalley.
this book really took me by surprise. don't get me wrong, i was very excited when i saw that drew was releasing a book, but it was still an influencer book so i didn't expect it to have a lot of substance, but boy was i wrong. this book actually delves quite deep into complex sociological topics and discussions while still being easily digestible and funny! drew tackles racism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, and obviously misogyny using both her own life experiences and data from studies to further provide context and evidence.
it often reminded me of conversations i've had with my friends, especially with the way it was written. i feel like even people who aren't fans of drew could easily read this book and find enjoyment or learn something new from it.
as someone who has a degree in sociology i was so pleased to see drew describing sociological theories in an easily understandable way and i hope that people will learn something new from this book, whether that be something about themselves or others.
i also found the discussion of Samoan culture to be very interesting because i feel like Samoan people are very underrepresented in media. also as a general nerd i just really enjoy learning about different people and cultures!
overall, this book exceeded my expectations and was an enjoyable and relatively quick read. from one virgo queen to another, i can't wait to see what drew does next!!
4.5 star rating