Thoughtful, honest, and humble, “Good Girls Don’t” is the new memoir by child actor Mara Wilson.
About This Book
In this candid and illuminating Scribd Original, writer-actor Mara Wilson navigates the good-girl-versus- bad-girl tropes from early childhood through adolescence and teen life. Good Girls Don’t is a coming-of- age memoir that bravely examines both the friendships Wilson formed as a child actor in Hollywood and the complex family relationships that shaped her.
Looking back on her experiences on and off the set of notable family-friendly films including Matilda, Mrs. Doubtfire, Miracle on 34th Street, and A Simple Wish, Wilson shares the challenges and joys of growing up in the public eye while enduring the very personal grief of losing her mother to cancer when she was just eight. She describes periods of acting out to assuage her own sadness, as her contentious grandmother stepped in and her hardworking, grief-stricken father grappled with raising a young daughter and her four siblings.
Wilson also shares intimate thoughts about religion and her struggle to adhere to the learned family values of her “Conservadox” upbringing while exploring clandestine friendships, such as with “bad girl” classmate Skye, that went against the “good” behavior her parents tried to instill in her. We discover the TV shows, films, and risqué pop and rock music that influenced her and hear fascinating, hilarious details of life on movie sets as seen from the perspective of a highly intelligent and emotionally vulnerable child.
And, as Wilson seeks to discard a people-pleasing mentality, she digs into past experiences with fans. We learn about the challenges of maintaining a significant fan base — including her complicated relationship with Edward, the college-age young man who administered a website to engage them — in addition to the ongoing anxiety over others’ opinions of how any move she made would be perceived.
With the transition to adulthood, Wilson reflects on the moments that led up to this next phase of her life. Forging solid friendships as a theater student at New York University, she begins to accept her extraordinary past while finally realizing what being “good” means to her.
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My Review
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.
Thank you to Scribd and Mara Wilson for the complimentary eARC in exchange for a fair, unbiased review.
About the Author
Mara Wilson, known for her childhood roles in Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda, is a writer and actor living in Los Angeles. Recently, she has appeared on Welcome to Night Vale, Broad City, and BoJack Horseman. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Elle, McSweeney’s, Reductress, People, and many other outlets. She also publishes a newsletter of her writing on Substack, “Shan’t We Tell the Vicar?” Wilson’s first book, Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame is available from Penguin Random House. Recently, Wilson voiced Tania de Batz in the audiobook One for All, a gender-swapped version of The Three Musketeers by Lillie Lainoff.
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