Nobody's Cuter than You: A Memoir about the Beauty of Friendship Kindle Edition

I first learned about Nobody’s Cuter Than You from The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey when she had author Melanie Shankle on the podcast. After I heard Melanie and Jamie giggling on The Happy Hour, I wanted to hear more of Melanie’s voice in her book. I went into the book anticipating a light beach read that would make me walk away feeling grateful for my girlfriends. Mission accomplished, Melanie Shankle. Mission accomplished.The book has 19 short chapters. Melanie goes all the way back to her first best friend and shares stories from all of her most important friendships up until present day. My favorite part was Melanie’s chapter about her annual tradition to get all of her Christmas shopping done over a weekend with her friend, Gulley. I appreciated how Melanie’s introspection interspersed among anecdotes forced me to think about how my friendships shaped and continue to shape me. I struggled with the pace and flow of her narrative, though. While I appreciated Melanie’s lightness and sense of humor, I wanted her to lean into the pain a little more when it happened. As a reader, it made me feel like she didn’t feel comfortable sharing her whole story. I felt like I was being kept at an arm’s length with humor and couldn’t get the full story. At times her humor felt out of place or she’d go on and on about seemingly unnecessary details that didn’t help advance the narrative of friendship. While Melanie’s devotion and affection for her dearest friends shines through, I struggled with how she handled the toughest moments. As a reader, I kept wanting to get back to the details of what was happening in her relationship instead of her interest in the superficial (hairstyles, fashion, etc.). Melanie has a knack for remembering all of those colorful details that take you back to times and places, but I think she took it to a level that distracted from the story. Perhaps it would have made more sense to plug in a few little vignettes. A small “ode to the 80’s” or a “love song to my Honda CR-X” would have been great! Just my $.02. I wish Melanie’s editor had forced her to trim out the fat and keep us along for the ride of the most important details. The chapters felt isolated and read like individual blog posts instead of a narrative weaved together to help us learn more about why Melanie is the woman she is today.In brief: Nobody’s Cuter Than You was a fun, light, vacation read that made me reflect more on the power of friendship, but I don’t think I’d recommend it unless I was giving someone my copy.I shared this review on my blog: [...]

True to the Melanie Shankle format, this book had me laughing out loud.Melanie's first book fell into my lap by pure coincidence last year and it took me all of about one 4-hour car ride to finish. I was a newlywed with a new baby and found it so relatable, witty, hysterical. I couldn't wait to tell all of my girl friends to read it. I immediately bought her 2nd book and loved every word of it. I pre-ordered this one as soon as I heard it was coming out.Possibly my favorite thing about her books is that Melanie writes like she is having a conversation with you. You feel immersed, like you are really having a chat with your best friend.This book was so relatable. So Enjoyable. I laughed (like really laughed, out loud, quite often); I cried. You can feel the emotion, The whole time I was reading I just kept thinking of my friends who are so dear to me.Being a Texas A&M Former Student really helped solidify this book as one of my favorites that I will revisit often. A lot can be said about a book you can open to a random page, begin reading and really have an enjoyable experience.Two thumbs up, Mrs. Shankle!

I am not a big reader - okay, i am not a reader at all unless it is People magazine. An acquaintance recommended i read this. I am so glad! I loved every page. So many funny stories that i could relate to. Made me smile and i looked forward to opening it everyday. I already bought 2 more of her books and am on my second one now. I guess i am now officially “a reader”

I LOVE Melanie's books! Sparkly Green Earrings and The Antelope in the Living Room were WONDERFUL! Totally delightful reading and both of them would have me laughing so hard I would have tears rolling down my cheeks and would have to stop reading and get a tissue and then start back reading only to start laughing again! I highly recommend those two books.This book was very good. Such a wonderful book about friendships throughout our lives and it did have funny moments, but not the kind in the other two books. But I enjoyed reading it very much and if you have had the blessing of having a lifetime of BFF's enter and exit your life, you will love reading this book about Melanie and her friends throughout her life. It was a blessing! It would be a great gift to give your BFF!

I absolutely LOVE Melanie! I read her blog, listen to her Podcast and I've read all 3 of her books. Nobody's Cuter than You is such a sweet memoir about the beauty of friendship. I laughed out loud and cried tears of gratefulness for the friends that God has given me over the years. One of my favorite things about this book is the words of wisdom I found throughout it. I highlighted several things and dog-eared multiple pages. For me this was more than just a fun read. I think Melanie has shown us that as women we need our sister-friends and that even in a world where women often fight with one another more than for one another we CAN find true friendship, love and grace among the women in our lives. I finished this book and was truly sad that it was over.

This books is the definition of a feel-good read, but it feels good because it acknowledges that sometimes life feels bad, and sometimes it's hard to find a friend and be a friend through it all. It's a call to a deeper love, and to question our allegiance to social media and text-only convos, which my generation falls back on so easily. It feels good because it's really, really funny and I couldn't read it in bed at night without giggling so hard I disturbed my husband.So, you should read this book if you're looking for something light, something funny, something positive, and you want to think about the power and intricacies of female friendship. It's great for those who love nostalgia moments as well. I gave it 5 stars because it was everything I anticipated and still more. I really love the appendix!

Heartwarming. A confirmation of what all women know; that your female friends, your 'soul-sisters', are the support network that will help you get through any challenge.