Featured image: Uncorrected proof copy of the book with publicity notepad, cards and badge
An uncorrected proof copy was gifted to me by Bloomsbury.
When Lex announced she was writing a YA, positivity, life advice book I was, well, a little surprised. She has a dark sense of humour which often matches the tone of her YouTube videos so I really wouldn’t have expected her to write this type of book. Reflecting on it more though, I was so intrigued to read what she has to say, and I suspected that it would actually be very good. I wasn’t wrong.
You’re Crushing It covers a myriad of issues from friendship to body confidence to succeeding at work (even if you have the dullest job in the world!) It jumps straight into the advice with short and direct tips on each topic. This works so well and makes it very accessible an easy to read. You can choose to either blitz through it all or pick it up and read a chapter or two whenever you feel like it. Its layout and typeface are also very inviting, with big swirly chapter titles and key messages blown up for each point. This makes it even more pleasing to take in.
The advice itself is actually properly useful, common sense and followable. Lex doesn’t patronise the reader or expect them to take on a whole new lifestyle. I can’t say that I learnt loads from the book or that I had any epiphanies while reading it, but it was good to have reminders of stuff I kind of already knew all in the one place. It was also incredibly validating to see certain ideas written down in black and white, in a published book, particularly around choices about sex and relationships and privilege, or lack of it. It made me quite emotional at times! It’s not ground-breaking advice but it’s not trying to be; it’s a collection of accessible, enjoyable pointers trying to help the reader through life as a human.
Lex has a very strong, authentic voice in her videos, and this carries across to the book seamlessly. She’s naturally very funny and it doesn’t feel like she’s trying too hard to write specifically for young adults; you can tell she’s just writing as herself. One element I really appreciated is that Lex knows exactly when to clarify a point and to acknowledge that not everyone has the same experience, and when to be unequivocal in asserting that certain behaviour really is or isn’t OK. The confidence of the writing is so refreshing.
As with any advice book I didn’t agree with every single word, and I would have liked more depth in a few of the points, but the short, punchy format works so well for the vast majority of the book that I think it was the right decision to go with that style throughout.
This is a great, readable, fun and believable advice book that I think every young adult (or even old adult) could use as a manual in their life. I’ll definitely pop back to it if I’m having a bad day and I honestly wish I knew a teenager to buy it for!
9/10
You’re Crushing It is released in paperback and on Kindle in the UK on 13th June 2019.
