Author: Joe Sugg / Matt Whyman
Illustrator: Amrit Birdi
Publisher: Running Press
Publication Date: September 22, 2015
192 pages, paperback
Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.
I feel like I should’ve known better, but I think that Joe Sugg is super funny (check out his YouTube channel ThatcherJoe) so I wanted to check it out and I wanted to like it so much. Plus the art on the cover looked pretty cool, but it was A LIE. I was more disappointed than I should have been – again, I should have known better.
Why this is bad:
- The story is ridiculously fast-paced. There is zero time to actually get to know and therefore care about any of the characters. It rushed through everything that happened and led to a very confusing and muddled plotline.
- The characters are flat in more ways than one.
- The artwork has no movement whatsoever and all of the characters are 2D because of it.
- But their personalities are also super flat and boring. There’s no explanation for why Mallory – Evie’s cousin – hates her so much; the science isn’t explained – although the idea of a virtual world that is influenced by a person’s thoughts/actions is pretty cool; I just didn’t care about anyone.
- The art. JFC. It’s just bad. Sometimes the characters aren’t proportional; sometimes Evie and Mallory look like the same person which is confusing. The art is flat and emotionless and bland, despite the vibrant colors.
- The writing. I’ll say that the idea is pretty cool, but the writing is not. The characters – mostly Evie – feel the need to constantly explain what they are doing or why something won’t work or that they are currently running. Okay, not the last one, but that’s what it felt like. Instead of showing the reader what was happening through the art or through dialogue, we are flat out told in long explanatory thought boxes. It was exhausting and unnecessary and annoying.
The bottom line: I was NOT a fan of this graphic novel. From flat art and characters to unnecessary explanations, Username: Evie is just not a good book.
Rating: 3 – Horrible; why am I reading this?
Caught Read Handed 
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Sorry you didn’t like this one. I guess I came across it somewhere, maybe NetGalley, but now I’m glad that I didn’t request it.
Thanks for the honest review, Stefani!
PS: It’s been quite long since we last interacted. Funny, how time flies. Hope all is well at your end 🙂
Yeah, I was just disappointed.
I hope everything is going well for you too! ❤
So I don’t believe I will be reading this graphic novel. Sorry it was such a disappointment.
I wanted to like this one, but I just didn’t.
I’ve been reading quite a few books by YouTubers and I have realized that they are either really good or really bad – very few are in between that range. And I feel like if they stick to what they are good at, it works out better for them. I’m not a huge fan of Joe Sugg, but I don’t think I’ll be reading this anyway.
Give me some good ones to check out!
I really liked Dan and Phil’s book and Connor Franta’s! I think Mamrie Hart’s book was pretty good and Grace’s book too, if you’re familiar with them as YouTubers.
I am so tempted to get copies of all the youtuber books and review them but I’m worried they’ll all turn out like this ^ great (bad) review though! If that makes sense!
Maybe you can check them out from the library? That’s what I did with this one because I didn’t want to buy it and have it turn out bad. So glad I didn’t buy it.