Clinton Kelly, the Emmy Award-winning cohost of The Chew and What Not to Wear, is no stranger to bookshelves, having written several self-help books on dressing right, avoiding fashion mistakes and entertaining on a budget. I Hate Everyone, Except You is Kelly's first book of autobiographical essays, detailing growing up gay on Long Island, N.Y., snagging a writing job at Marie Claire magazine and segueing into a successful career hosting two very popular television shows.
The acerbic and droll Kelly is a marvelous storyteller, whether he's remembering teenage weekends spent with his best female friend renting porn videos and critiquing the dialogue; having a bathing suit mishap at a water park; experimenting with edible marijuana; or enjoying his favorite pastime: correcting other people's grammar. Fans will also enjoy his affectionate and biting behind-the-scenes tales of working with cohost Stacy London on WNTW. He writes that they got along like "a house on fire, from my first day on the job. And as the years wore on, I wished that house would have burned down to the ground." Kelly also tries his hand at fiction, including one short story and an unsold roman à clef TV pilot he wrote about working on a make-over TV show.
I Hate Everyone, Except You is snarky and witty fun, but it's grounded by a solid base of good will and optimism. The final chapter finds Kelly reluctantly returning to a high school he hated and giving a commencement address that is much like this book--funny, smart and profane. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant