A really fun concept for a memoir. I wasn't expecting it to be so personal, more of a straightforward defense of "cringe" or "tacky" things. But I'm really glad that it's personal. 

A lot of the things mentioned in the book are things that I also hold near and dear to my heart, or that I'm very passionate about. I spent all of middle school dying to work at the local Hot Topic, idolizing the alternative workers. Even today, I love stopping buy to pick up a MyChem t-shirt and talking to the visibly queer workers. I love Archie comics and how stupid they are.  I love reading them or watching Riverdale and reporting to the people around me all of the crazy shenanigans Archie and the gang get up to. I've never seen Jersey Shore, but being someone from New Jersey, I do get very defensive of the way people are portrayed on the show. Most of the "backlash" the cast receives is just classism or racism (not against Italians, but the way things like their accents are mocked). And Meat Loaf! One of my fondest memories with my partner is being in the backseat of their car while them and their father sang all of Paradise by the Dashboard light together. 

I love seeing what these things mean to other people and how it allows us all to connect with people we love, or how we use things to cope with our pain. Campy movies and greasy burgers and reality TV are beautiful and I love seeing how universal these experiences are!! :)

Idk probably would have been like 3.5 or 4 but I'm not a huge fan of the way Hughes draws women and also a professor I hated worked on this comic fuck you José