I had always heard that Jaleel White doesn't exactly embrace the Steve Urkel persona, so I was really excited when I saw that he had a book coming out. If you're a 90's kid who enjoys nostalgic pop culture, I think you'd enjoy this biography. I appreciated the opportunity to understand where Jaleel was coming from, as it must be difficult to by type-cast in a role like that. You get the reasons why his career didn't take off after Family Matters and how that psychologically impacted Jaleel. There's plenty of tea on controversial figures like Bill Cosby, R. Kelly, and Les Moonves, as well as the FM cast. I didn't find it as easy to connect with Jaleel because he does bring a certain attitude to the book (which may be a bias I have since I've followed interviews from him post-FM), but again, it was very interesting hearing his definitive POV and how he was able to pivot his career later with Dancing with the Stars and his Cannabis business.

Loved. Urkel was an icon when I was growing up and whenever I see Jaleel White in anything it always brings me back watching Family Matters when I was younger. Hearing his story and how down to earth he stayed due to his family and their values made me love him even more

Jaleel White is a familiar face to those of us that grew up in the 80s and 90s. Everyone tuned in for TGIF shows on Friday night. About once a year I will read an obscure book that I wouldn’t pick up normally. Last year it was the Randy Travis biography, this year Jaleel White. I honestly enjoyed the first half of the book. It gave a behind the scenes look at how he broke into Family Matters and also how he balanced that job with being a kid. Being Urkel couldn’t have always been easy and he did a good job painting the picture of what it was like to become the person you played on TV, even when you didn’t want to.
The second half of the book came across differently. He seemed narcissistic and kind of ungrateful. Many of the things he referenced had to do with being black and blaming others for how things weren’t working out for him after Family Matters. I’m not sorry I read it…it was nice to touch a piece of my childhood for a bit and remember how things were before streaming services became king. Would I recommend to others? Probably not.

DNF @ 16%

What a sad, bitter, resent ful man [who thinks he is something because he can name drop, even though there is nothing behind all that]. As someone who watched Family Matters every Friday, this was a book I was really excited to read; how disappointing,

I was invited to read/review this by the publisher [Simon & Schuster] an I thank them for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was for sure an interesting read. It was interesting to read about how Family Matters really defined who White is and honestly the rest of his career. I really wish we got to hear more about his experiances and his relationships with his coworkers on set. I do think he did a great job being as transparent as possible about his time as an actor and the racism and struggles he faced along the way.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this memoir. It is so hard not to fall in love with each memoir that I’ve read because looking into somebody’s personal life when you only know them on a screen it’s just such a deep experience. I grew up watching family matters, it was a little bit above my age group since I was very little, but I had older siblings that would have it on the TV all the time. I absolutely loved the slap stick humor associated with Urkel and it’s so incredible to see into his personal experience with this character, with the Hollywood scene being a young black actor. His writing truly drew me in to all of his personal stories, his love for basketball, the relationship he had with his parents, the awkwardness of a first date. This is incredible!

I love celebrity memoirs, especially those from 90s stars. I was born in 1981, so I'm a true child of the TGIF era. That said, I really enjoyed this book and would absolutely recommend it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Family Matters was one of my favorite TGIF shows from my youth, so I was eager to read this book. Jaleel White shares his experiences growing up in Hollywood, providing longtime fans with an insightful look into child stardom. He discusses the challenges that young actors face and offers guidance on how to navigate these issues as they grow up. I highly recommend this book to both longtime fans of the show and new followers of the actor.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this work.

A fascinating look at Jaleel White’s career and the various mistakes he made while navigating Hollywood and contracts. I enjoyed learning about the role his parents played in keeping him grounded and the glimpse at the shame the adult White seeing his entitled attitude towards certain memories. I was never a watcher of his show but knew who he was. I feel that I got to know him better through this book and liked that many of the decisions that he made were rooted in the way he was raised.

Special thanks to the author and @simonbooks #SimonBooksBuddy for my gifted copy‼️

This was the only book I read for non-fiction November and I had really high hopes for it. Not to mention I loved watching Family Matters growing up so I just knew this was gonna be a top tier read for me. I even bought the audio although I had a copy because I was that excited.

Now Growing Up Urkel wasn’t boring but it wasn’t what I was expecting either. I know many say they don’t rate or judge memoirs but let’s be real if the memoir is MEH it’s just that. Nothing Jaleel mentioned in his memoir was unexpected to me. From his childhood experiences, the way he was raised by his parents, being the only child, his experiences with dating, and of course his role on Family Matters. None of it was surprising lol I know that sounds crazy be it all seemed so Jaleel 😂.

One thing I did find interesting was how the show ended up incorporating his character as Stefan. I used to be head over hills for him and Laura really played with Steve until she saw he was a snack without them glasses.

Overall, this was an okay memoir definitely learned a lot about his personal life but mostly his experience in Hollywood and being in the industry. It’s crazy how his role as Steve Urkel overpowered his career and potential for better lead roles after that. I feel like he played his part so well that nobody could see past that and sometimes that can be a good and bad thing.

Rating: 3.5/5⭐️

Reading Growing Up Urkel was quite interesting. I spent so many Friday nights in front of the TV screen watching the TGIF lineup on ABC with my family. Needless to say, I grew up with "Urkel" for a big part of my childhood. But as with many people, the character Steve Urkel was so ingrained in my psyche, I did not much consider or appreciate actor Jaleel White outside of this role.

Oftentimes we hear of actors never quite escaping their most popular roles, especially childhood stars. Jaleel White is one of those actors. If you are a fan that wonders what becomes of those particular actors so many of us grew up watching on TV, you def want to pick up Growing Up Urkel.

Jaleel White holds no punches when sharing what his life was like as a child star and the effect it has had on his life after the show ended. He gives us his side of things, particularly what it's like filming a popular TV show as America's most endearing nerd while still enrolled in public show and trying to remain as humble as possible. And yes, he addresses rumors we've all heard about rapport among fellow castmates.

Overall, I enjoyed Growing Up Urkel. It was cool to learn more about his life outside of Family Matters and how much "Steve Urkel" typecast him for the duration of his acting career. It was also dope to get the "inside scoop" on pivotal moments in the show, such as celebrity cameos, "Myrtle Urkel," and the invention of "Stephan UrKel." Readers even get a glimpse of the lore behind character Judy going up stairs never to return to set. There were times when I wasn't sure if White was being serious or sarcastic, but I still enjoyed the book. White is a great storyteller and after that share at the end about Dave Chapelle and "Purple Urkel," I'm even more curious about one of his current business ventures!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of Growing Up Urkel.

3.5 Stars

REVIEW: Growing Up Urkel by Jaleel White (3.5)

Growing up in the 90s, I saw my share of episodes of Family Matters. Urkel was a household name; everyone knew who he was and how he sounded. However, many people didn’t and maybe still don’t know Jaleel White. I was excited that he wrote a memoir because I always wanted to know more about him.

First of all, Growing Up Urkel is worth it as an audiobook. Jaleel is a great narrator who adds so much to his story, even adding different voices for other people. Growing Up Urkel encompasses Jaleel White’s life from starting on Family Matters when he was 12 until now. Hearing about his time during Family Matters was so interesting since it was significant and influential. Jaleel also talks about different lessons he has learned through life, his parents, basketball, college, trying to step away from Urkel to find other roles, and the complications of show business. One thing that stood out was his appreciation for his parents. His parents kept him grounded and taught him so much. Jaleel credits his parents for his lack of significant drama or scandals while being a child star.

The organization could have been more straightforward to follow at times. It wasn’t linear, so things sometimes felt out of order and off. I also wished Jaleel had shared more about his life beyond just his career. He briefly mentioned his daughter, but there wasn’t much more.

Overall, I enjoyed Growing Up Urkel. It was great to hear more about Jaleel and his life in showbiz.

Thank you, Netgalley and Simon & Schuster, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Jaleel White for an ARC of this book!**

You know that feeling you get when you finish a truly impressive memoir and you feel like you actually KNOW the person?

Well...I DID get the feeling I knew Jaleel White after finishing his memoir...but unfortunately, knowing him and LIKING him are two very, VERY different things.

Jaleel skyrocketed to fame at an early age and perhaps the problems started there. What started as a bit role on the iconic 90's TGIF sitcom Family Matters turned into a role that would help shape and define his perceived persona for the rest of his career. White starred as Steve Urkel, a nerd who was equal parts laughable, lovable, and at times just plain irritating...but nevertheless, audiences loved him and much like Henry Winkler's Arthur "Fonz" Fonzerelli, Urkel quickly became both the face and the draw of the show itself. And for Family Matters fans, there is SOME content here regarding Jaleel's time on the show, his friendship with co-star Kellie Williams (love interest Laura Winslow on the show), and talk of the bonds the family shared etc., but there is hardly ANY time spent on any of the other cast members or fun behind the scenes stories. No, Jaleel would rather talk about how his pants eventually became, uh, tight and therefore inappropriate for the character, or tell snide stories about some of the adult cast members of Family Matters....which seems to me a lot less like any form of gratitude and more of a forum for him to 'air his grievances' about every form of injustice he feels he has perceived.

And trust me...THIS bitter, entitled, and somewhat arrogant attitude is the ONLY through line you're going to find here.

After a brief lead in where Jaleel denotes his religious upbringing and the thoughtful care provided by his parents, he jumps right into 'Urkel,' and does spend SOME time there. But aside from the reverence he shows to Leslie Moonves (pretty much the only person he gives flowers to in the entirety of his book), much of the narrative reads like a jumbled recollection of various anecdotes about all of the times Jaleel was let down or looked over...by everyone. But rather than feeling sympathetic towards him, I couldn't get past feelings of annoyance and frustration, which only deepened over time. At the end of the day, it seems as though Jaleel honestly believed that his portrayal of Urkel and success on Family Matters was going to set him up with multi million dollar movie deals for life...and when that didn't happen, he had every excuse under the sun as to why it didn't come to pass...except perhaps the most logical of all. Just like in music, ANYONE can be a 'one hit wonder', no matter how talented they are or the amount of talent they possess...and years later, it seems Jaleel just can't reconcile that fact.

The stories vary in length, depth, and breadth, but each time he started name dropping, I sort of sat back sighing and waiting for the inevitable bitterness to emerge...and this is pretty much all I encountered for the remaining pages of the book. Jaleel is also VERY interested in basketball, so if you're not a fan, there are definitely passages along the way you'll probably want to skim, if not skip entirely. Despite opportunities to meet his heroes, travel on luxury planes, and command the 'star treatment,' Jaleel doesn't seem grateful or happy about any of this...just annoyed that he didn't everything his heart ever desired. He even took the time to bash fellow 90's TV star Alfonso Ribiero (one of the breakout stars from the show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) for his willingness to 'go along' with the angle producers wanted when Alfonso starred on Dancing With the Stars. You see, Jaleel was on a different season of 'Dancing', but HE refused to go along with the producers 'angle' for him on the show (oh, and he takes some time to bash how he was trained by professional dancer Kym Johnson as well...wouldn't want to leave that out!) and therefore he didn't get 'rewarded' with a hosting job down the line. (Ribiero now co-hosts Dancing with the Stars.) Of course, Jaleel leaves out the fact that Alfonso Ribiero was a host FOR YEARS before even starring on Dancing with the Stars...because facts like that make his bitterness seem more like the envy they actually are.

And then there's the fact that actually getting THROUGH this memoir is going to take even more of your patience...and will probably give you a heavy sense of deja vu. The book not only lacks chronological order at times, but manages to repeat itself...over and over. Jaleel would sort of 'cap off' a story with his impression of the situation, and not two pages later would reiterate the same conclusion. Not only is this confusing, but it makes it seem like he took 10 years to write this book and each time he came back to it he couldn't remember where he had left off last time. As this was an early copy, it's possible that an editor cleaned up some of the mish-mosh; one can only hope. I'm not sure if it was page count he was targeting or simply forgetfulness, but it made what should have been a short, snappy memoir feel endlessly long...and more like 500 pages than 300. If that wasn't offensive enough, Jaleel sort of randomly mentions he has a daughter (!) without ANY description of how he became a father, or when...and even if his goal was simply to maintain her privacy, mentioning your child as an afterthought of sorts is just not a great look.

Although at his core, Jaleel White acknowledges that without Urkel, he wouldn't have the career or the life he has had, rather than gratitude, he simply gives his reader (and the world at large) attitude. And he left ME saying (in my best Urkel voice, of course) "Did he write that?"

And I really wish he hadn't.

2.5 stars

In the 1990s, Family Matters was a popular TV show that ran on Friday evenings. A favorite quote was "Did I do that?" Steve Urkel became a household name. In Growing Up Urkel, the actor himself gives the reader a behind the scenes look into the show and later years of his life. He shares his struggles to shed his childhood image and make a new name for himself in Hollywood. All the while, he has remained humble.

Man. I really, really wanted to love this book, but I did not. Summed up in a nutshell, it was "I played Urkel, went to college for free, failed hard at getting another lasting job, and now I sell weed." I really did not realize how little he acted after being Urkel. The writing style was good, but the actual substance of the book was definitely not.

I was wowed by this tell-all! I had no idea what he'd dealt with growing up as Urkel. He will always be a favorite of mine, so the nostalgia effect was absolutely part of it.

I was so excited to receive this ARC. I grew up watching Family Matters and Steve Urkel was my favorite character. I'll admit, I haven't seen much of anything else with Jaleel in it and was curious to see what he's been up to.

My review has nothing to do with the actual content. I LOVED hearing about his experiences growing up, behind the scenes of shooting Family Matters, and future work he did. All of the content was very interesting!

The reason for my three star was because of the format. I felt like I was getting whiplash from all the time jumping. I realize the chapters are themed and this was not meant to be in chronological order, but it was confusing and felt repetitive at times. Because I was already jarred from the jumping, anytime there was a short tangent, it made things even more confusing.

Overall, this was a great read though and I recommend it!

Family Matters was my comfort show during the pandemic, so when I saw that one of its stars wrote his memoirs, I thought it'd be a great chance to get to know the person behind the character who kept me smiling during that terrible year.
And that's exactly what this is, a very straight forward telling of his life. He's not divulging any major headline making stories, there's no "setting the record straight", he's just telling it how it is. As I said that is personally exactly what I was looking for, the person behind the beloved character he never had a chance to shake off.

I now know why Jaleel White did such an amazing job in his role as Steve Urkel. After reading this book, I’ve come to realize, Jaleel White is Steve Urkel. Like Urkel, Jaleel was totally oblivious to so many situations he found himself in. From Penny Hardaway taking him shopping for more fashionable clothing, to being ignored by women he wanted to date, Jaleel and Urkel have more in common than even Jaleel realize.

Growing Up Urkel is a highly entertaining collection of experiences that reveals the challenges, triumphs, and lessons Jaleel learned while growing up in the spotlight. It superbly captures the complexities Jaleel encountered being tied to the iconic character Steve Urkel.
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Jaleel dishes the dirt and spills the tea on every person in Hollywood that did him dirty. There’s stories about Bill Cosby, Jay Z, R. Kelly, Penny Hardaway, Darius McCray, Gabrielle Union, Russell Simmons and the list goes on and on. He even mentions New Edition (shoutout to my all time favorite group). Thankfully he didn't say anything bad about them.
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There was never a dull moment. Jaleel opens the book sharing how he refused to take part in a reboot of 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. And closed the book with a story about himself along with Dave Chappell and Talib Kwali getting Cheech and Chong high off Urkel’s supply. It was hilarious.
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Although I was gifted a digital galley, I’m going to listen to the audiobook once it’s released. I need to hear the inflection of Jaleel’s voice as he tells these stories. I want to know if there is a comedic undertone throughout the book. A lightheartedness that I was unable to detect from reading the digital copy. Jaleel’s tone and mood was unclear to me. I couldn’t tell if some stories were meant to be funny, or if Jaleel actually blames everyone else for his mishaps and failed opportunities.

Now, I must say…if you’re hoping to dive into Jaleel’s personal life, this book doesn’t offer much in that regard. This narrative primarily focuses on his career. In fact, the only mention of his daughter’s mother is a brief anecdote about her serving him court papers while he was competing on Dancing With the Stars.

With that said, I still enjoyed the book. I believe Growing Up Urkel is a delightful treat for all fans of the hit sitcom Family Matters.

A very surface-level, name-dropping kind of memoir that's not particularly exciting.

**Thank you Net Galley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.**