Sorry Not Sorry

September 19, 2016
Actress, singer, and former Glee star Rivera looks back on her career and the hit TV series, revealing that the road to fame was riddled with missteps and challenges. Her mother procured an agent for her daughter before she could walk, and Rivera was in her first commercial when she was seven; the young Rivera also appeared on The Royal Family (with Redd Foxx), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Family Matters. Even as a child, Rivera reveals, she "liked the responsibility of acting," and when her family fell on financial hard times, she was the only member with money in the bank and an unemployment check. During adolescence her career plummeted, she succumbed to an eating disorder, and her parents divorced. Just when she was about to ditch acting, however, her mother encouraged her to stay in the game, and shortly thereafter she landed the Glee role of Santana Lopez, a character she developed as she herself grew up. Sassy and engaging, Rivera's memoir tells of struggles with self-image, failed romance, and finding her place in the world and onstage as a girl with a racially mixed background. Each chapter ends with a section called "Sorry: Not Sorry," reminding readers that so-called mistakes are lessons. Millennial readers and aspiring performers will be particularly drawn to Rivera's never-give-up "keep it moving" outlook.

September 15, 2016
Best known for her portrayal of snarky mean girl and lesbian icon Santana Lopez on Glee, Rivera has plenty to be not sorry for: a swoonworthy career as a child actor in the 1990s (Fresh Prince, Family Matters, and the Redd Foxx vehicle The Royal Family); a breakout role on a hit TV show; and a loving home life. Instead of the outrageous tell-all Gleeks might expect, though, Rivera hints at, but doesn't include, juicy details about behind-the-scenes revelry. However, she does touch on major points involving her costars, such as an on-set rivalry with Lea Michelle; her on-again, off-again relationship with onscreen (and offscreen, allegedly) bad boy Mark Salling; and Cory Monteith's tragic death. She also addresses personal tabloid scandals, like her engagement to rapper Big Sean ( I don't fuck with you, either ) and elopement with actor Ryan Dorsey a few months later. Yet there's an honest, reflective maturity about the wisdom she imparts: live your life. There may be regrets, but don't let them stop you.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)