Publishers Weekly
08/28/2023
Former Jeopardy! contestant Schneider, who became the most successful woman and trans person to participate on the show in 2022 after winning 40 consecutive games, debuts with a funny if scattershot memoir loosely organized around the “rich rewards” of her lifelong curiosity. In 21 essay-like chapters titled as Jeopardy! questions (“When Did You Know You Were Trans?”; “How Did You Lose Your Virginity?”), Schneider covers a lot of ground, weighing in on her Catholic childhood in Dayton, Ohio, and her early (and ongoing) questions about gender identity, as well as pop culture from Daria to the bizarre 1990 anti-drug TV special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. She clarifies off the bat that the book isn’t for young fans, making good on that disclaimer with candid passages about polyamory and drug use (cocaine served as “the medical treatment I didn’t know I needed for ADD” for a while), but fans of all ages may wish for more details about Schneider’s Jeopardy! stint, which is mostly relegated to casual asides until the final chapters. Humorous footnotes and a general sense of well-earned confidence keep things afloat, but by the end, the lack of focus starts to wear thin. This doesn’t quite live up to its potential. Agent: Cait Hoyt, CAA. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Amy Schneider is one of the Jeopardy! greats, second only to Ken Jennings in games won . . . In her new memoir, she locks down a No. 1 spot, though, for best hang. . . . Her prose is warm and funny. . . . Images from a handwritten diary entry from the day her first wife left; her candor about self-loathing; the nervous ecstasy in her trans awakening—that’s where the book feels the most special and alive. . . . Trans stories are often commodified for either misery or nobility in the face of misery, but In the Form of a Question is a much fuller, livelier, more textured and sardonic picture.” —New York Times
“Written with wit and transparency, as well as the occasional passionate chapter on pop culture gems like the '90s MTV staple Daria, In the Form of a Question is both a multi-faceted portrait and an ode to learning.” —People
“Delightful . . . Offers a multifaceted portrait of a figure most of us still only know from the small screen . . . Schneider is a cheerful, probing, and footnote-addicted guide. (The footnotes, sometimes one-word asides, are hilarious.) . . . The book embodies the kind of sensibility that can get a person onto the Jeopardy! stage at all—an omnivorous curiosity and willingness to engage. . . . Inspiring.” —The San Francisco Chronicle
“Refreshingly no-holds-barred.” —USA Today
“Her book is concerned with the biggest question of all: Who am I? In essays on cross-dressing pre-transition, polyamory, and living with attention-deficit disorder, Schneider introduces readers to the real, messy, complex Amy.” —Wall Street Journal
“With In the Form of a Question, Schneider shows us her sense of humor and peels back her pearls-wearing Jeopardy! persona to share her real-life experiences—including dabbling in drugs, awkward sex moments, and cringe-worthy wonder-years memories. No scar is left unpicked—and with wit.” —Boston Globe
“A wryly funny memoir. . . A pleasure and an education await in the reading. . . . For a funny, memorable, philosophical take on life, Schneider’s book is far and away the winner.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Schneider reveals the concerns of a normal life changed by sudden notoriety, and she does so with self-awareness and a hefty dose of humorous footnotes. . . . Schneider’s memoir fully commits to her own voice with unapologetic honesty. She grants grace to herself and others for what they know and don't know, emphasizing how personal evolution is always possible if someone, above all else, keeps learning.” —Shelf Awareness (starred review)
“In this funny, candid, and confident debut, Amy takes us along on her lifelong journey of discovery, about the world and about herself. This is no ordinary Jeopardy! memoir—but then again, Amy Schneider is no ordinary Jeopardy! champion.” —Ken Jennings
74-time consecutive Jeopardy! winner Ken Jennings
In this funny, candid, and confident debut, Amy takes us along on her lifelong journey of discovery, about the world and about herself. This is no ordinary Jeopardy! memoir—but then again, Amy Schneider is no ordinary Jeopardy! champion.”
Kirkus Reviews
2023-07-26
The Jeopardy! champion turns in a wryly funny memoir.
“How are you so smart?” The question has dogged Schneider since childhood. The author is undeniably smart and not at all disinclined to show it off, whether with a joke about Immanuel Kant or a disquisition on English etymology and the virtues of knowing a little something about it. Other questions emerged after Schneider won a whopping $1,382,000 purse on her two-month championship run: “How does it feel to be so successful? What are you going to do with the money? How does it feel to be so trans?” About all these things, she has much to say. Clearly, the author is comfortable with the fame and money, and she is a winningly clear-voiced and often irreverent champion of trans rights as well. “Trans people are just people. They need to pee sometimes. Let them,” she writes regarding gender bathroom controversies. On an equally personal note, Schneider enumerates what might be perceived as weaknesses that turn out to be Jeopardy! superpowers. For example, “ADD made me literally addicted to learning,” and because the game rewards a broad base of knowledge more than mastery of a particular subject (incidentally, Schneider holds a doctorate in computer science), neurodivergence proved useful. Fittingly, the author darts from subject to subject: a complex love life, memories of teachers great and terrible, experimentation with drugs, notes on a political scene that finds her “targeted because many of my fellow citizens wish me ill, and base their vote at least in part on whether or not it will hurt me.” Would-be Jeopardy! contestants should turn to Bob Harris’ Prisoner of Trebekistan for the nuts-and-bolts of gameplay, but for a funny, memorable, philosophical take on life, Schneider’s book is far and away the winner.
Only incidentally about the show that won her fame, but a pleasure and an education awaits in the reading.
