This is not just a book about a cross-country road trip. It is also very much the cross-country road trip of books: a meandering adventure in which the main draw is spending time with the person in the driver’s seat ... But not every roadside attraction is a must-see. The drawings of figs and protein bars and David Bowie record covers interspersed throughout the book give the impression of twee jetsam. It seems like artistic malpractice — or the setup to a joke about millennials — to drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains and put pencil to paper to capture the spectacular natural beauty of … an episode of 'The West Wing' she’s just watched on an iPad ... For the most part, though, Jacobson is interested in talking about the things most readers are interested in hearing about ... That said, not even Jacobson possesses the literary prowess or the personality that would be required to sell readers on a minute-by-minute breakdown of insomnia ... And [establishing a small, meaningful connection with a stranger] is exactly what [Jacobson has] done here, with each one of her readers.
While asking many questions about adulthood — like what the impact of tucking in her shirt has had on her life — Abbi Jacobson infuses her sharp and witty voice to tell stories about loss, love and finding yourself.
Part travelogue, part diary, you come for the delightful observations about road snacks and the life-changing magic of tucking in your shirt, and stay for the endearingly honest, quirky reflections on life, love, art, and work.
A sweetly wistful collection ... touching ... Older readers, however, may feel like Gandalf the Grey ... wanders pleasantly along ... Jacobson asks more questions than she answers, which is as it should be.
This isn’t the most interesting road-trip ever recorded, largely because the author seems so uninterested in the places she is passing through ... [One] chapter – about the invention of the initial Broad City web series, and its astonishing success as a TV show after the seemingly endless beating on closed doors – should be required reading for any wannabe ... In the end, on this honest, unspectacular and sometimes rather boring journey, and after sampling some extremely disappointing spiritualism, [Jacobson] does have two moments of real enlightenment – one in a field in the middle of the night, the other in a swimming pool – and emerges the stronger for them. ‘It is going to be OK.’
A series of sketches, some brilliant and some pedestrian .. Some of Jacobson’s observations are too casually tossed-off ... but many of the sketches are reminiscent of Nora Ephron in their sharp-edged goofiness ... Charting the charms and obstacles in the everyday, Jacobson’s book wobbles here and there, but it’s mostly a pleasure to read.
Often hilarious ... witty, self-deprecating ... readers less familiar with her TV work may feel that the narrative rambles. Those familiar with Jacobson will appreciate the details that link her real life to her character on the screen...fans will delight in the peek into Jacobson’s creative process and be touched by the strikingly raw emotions she shares throughout.
