In Real Life: My Journey to a Pixelated World

by Joey Graceffa

A confessional, uplifting memoir from the beloved YouTube personality.

It’s not where you begin that matters.

It's where you end up.

Twenty-three year old Joey Graceffa has captured the hearts of millions of teens and young adults through his playful, sweet, and inspirational YouTube presence (not to mention his sparkling eyes and perfect hair). Yet, Joey wasn’t always comfortable in his skin, and in this candid memoir, he thoughtfully looks back on his journey from pain to pride, self-doubt to self-acceptance.

To his fans, Joey is that best friend who always captures the brighter side of life but also isn’t afraid to get real. In the pages of his first book, he opens up about his years of struggling with family hardships and troubles at school, with cruel bullying and the sting of rejection. He tells of first loves and losses, embarrassing moments and surprising discoveries, loneliness, laughter, and life-changing forks in the road, showing us the incalculable value of finally finding and following your true passion in this world. Funny, warm-hearted, and inspiring, Joey Graceffa’s story is a welcome reminder that it’s not where you begin that matters, but where you end up.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, LGBT, Autobiography, Biography Memoir, Audiobook

257 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 2015

About the author

Joey Graceffa is one of the fastest-growing personalities on YouTube. A popular brand ambassador, he has partnered with Topshop, Audible, eBay, and H&R Block. In 2013, between his daily vlogs and gameplay videos, Joey produced and starred in his own Kickstarter–funded supernatural series, “Storytellers,” for which he won a Streamy Award. He also starred in The Amazing Race on CBS and returned in 2014 for the all-star edition. He grew up with his family in Boston before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment.

Reviews

[Shawn McComb]

good damn done! 😂😜

[Peter Monn · Rating 1 out of 5]

The fact that this "memoir" has received anything more than 1 star is hilarious. Horribly written and almost impossible to get through without throwing it in the trash. Please don't write an updated memoir in five years.

[Shawna Finnigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Update: Here is my video review with all of my rambling and detailed thoughts about this book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP1ZP...

TW// alcoholism, suicidal ideation
CW// bullying, ableism, homophobia, r-word, f-word

I've been a fan of Joey Graceffa since 2016, so I'm somewhat of a newer fan of his than other people and I wasn't super familiar with a lot of the experiences that Joey talked about in this book. I do have to say that most YouTuber's memoirs all tend to seem the same and this one was no exception. While it was nice to have an insight into Joey's life and I did enjoy it, it felt just like any other YouTuber's book. I'd recommend this one to hardcore Joey Graceffa fans but casual fans or people who don't even know Joey can skip this one.

I have so many thoughts on this book and they're a bit all over the place so I'll be posting a video review on my YouTube channel in the coming weeks with all of my thoughts. I'll update this review with the link to the video once it's posted.

[Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

You have the power and control to be whatever you want to be, no matter where you start out in life.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me start off by saying that I love Joey Graceffa. I've been watching his videos since 2013, and I think he was one of the first YouTube-rs I ever watched. So, you would think that I would know that he would be releasing a book, right?





I literally had no clue. When I saw it just sitting on the shelf while perusing our local book store, I was like:






GIF's aside, I was SO happy to see it. I'm not necessarily a non-fiction fan, but I have been enjoying memoirs lately. And, it's Joey Graceffa, so of course I picked it up! I really liked it, too! I had no idea at all what Joey had been through; He had an alcoholic mother, he was getting teased and bullied constantly, he was in special-ed classes, he was trying to make a name for himself, he was having issues with his sexuality, and he was getting rejected by his dream college. I think that made him stronger, though. The world is harsh, but it made him stronger after everything he went through. In contrast to everything he was going through, he still was having fun. There were so many funny stories, awkward moments, awkward dates, and fun experiences.

Joey Graceffa is wise beyond his years. I really have a deeper appreciation for his videos because whenever the cameras turned off, he was still going through a lot. I really liked this book though; it's very well written. 4 Stars!!

Now, this is the portion that I'm most excited for: Joey-y stuff! You can stop reading now if you want. If you don't want to, here be pictures of one of my baes.


A picture of Joey and his book. Good job, Joey!

The following are just pictures of his attractiveness. I might have a slight problem. ^-^







I'll mention it one more time. I love Joey Graceffa. <3

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of this guy, nor seen any of his YouTube videos, but I read this to preview it for one of my 7th grade girls, and I was very pleasantly surprised. It's a compelling, real life story, even though it sounds like something an author would make up for a YA fiction book - main character is bullied because he acts feminine, mother has to go to rehab because of alcoholism multiple times, little brother has autism, boy learns to accept the fact that he's gay, has awkward first dates and first kisses and first break-ups. It wasn't a fantastic work of literature, but it was a decently well-written memoir of being young in today's world, and I think a lot of teens will love it and find some great messages.

As far as a recommended age, it really depends on the kid. It's written at about a 5th-grade reading level, but that might be a bit young for some of the themes, which including graduating, going to college, then leaving college to move to LA and pursue your dreams. The dating and relationship content is quite mild - there's kissing, making out, cuddling, even sleeping in the same bed as another guy, but nothing beyond that. No sex, and even several mentions of Joey saying he's going to wait for it to be special and wanting to take things slow with the guys he meets. There's a little bit of swearing. But I think the positive messages far outweigh any questionable content.

Each chapter ends with advice boxes - how to deal with bullies, ten reasons to be friends with your siblings, why your own imagination is better than your ipad, how to get out of a toxic friendship, favorite bands, favorite love songs, favorite break-up songs, cool websites for LGBTQ people. I remember loving that type of thing when I was younger.

My 7th grader is a struggling reader, and it can be hard to find something she's excited to read. Which is part of the reason I'm giving this 4 stars - anything that will get kids reading and is full of practical, positive messages is worth 4 stars in my book! I happily bought the book for my 7th grader, and I think she'll love it.

[farith · Rating 3 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

I didn't expect to like this book. I mean, I'm not a HUGE fan of Joey Graceffa but I've seen his videos. I thought this book was going to be very superficial but no. I also didn't know that he had a very hard childhood so when he talked about it in this book I felt bad for him.



The message of the book is great: loving yourself and not caring about what other people say. I know it's an overused quote, but at the time when I was reading this book, it was something that I actually needed and I'm glad I picked it up when I did.

A lot of people have been struggling about reading YouTubers books. Sometimes we have to leave out the writing style and all the details that a professional author can give us and focus on the great story that's behind the book.



(Just leaving this gif here cause cmon joey is bae)

[Tan Markovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5!

[Leah H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I expected I would, I really enjoyed this book! It was really interesting learning about his life before YouTube, and how he got to where he is now. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Joey's YouTube videos, anyone interested in YouTube in general, or to anyone looking for an engaging biography.

[Brigitte Cormier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best books I have ever read! It's a memoir, but it makes you have all the feels just like a contemporary. I couldn't help grinning from ear to ear and cheering him on on all his adventures. Please pick Joey's book up. Even if you're not a subscriber to his channel, this book is definitely worth a read.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I hug you Joey? This by far is the best book I've ever read by a YouTuber!

[Ally C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably one of my favorite books, I have always had an interest in this book sense it came out, I recommend this book to every one

[Natasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why the hell did I subject myself to this? It was so much worse than I thought it would be.
Update:
I should add why I read it when I knew I wouldn't like it. Well, honestly Joey was a huge part of my life in 2012-2013. I stopped watching in October due to that whole driveway incident and he had been getting on my nerves for a while. But even still, I'd been curious. Why not give it a try? My library had it on eBook which was even better. But the writing was subpar, there were scenes written that sounded so fake (like his tongue getting stuck on an icy-pole?????) and he obviously couldn't remember exactly what people said but the way he wrote how people spoke was so irritating! No one talks the way he wrote them. I was expecting at least three stars but no, this book was awful and torture to get through.

[Kade Boehme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, well done little inspiring memoir. Def good read for the young adult/late teen crowd. Good job Joey G.

[Hannah R.]

It was a good book but it took a while to become interesting

[Nicole King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really want to read This book I am reading girl online and it looks great sooo joey I hope you write more books I don't even have to read it to now its good

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just want to give Joey a hug. I loved it.

[Mazzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book guilty pleasure style.

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartfelt, Uplifting & Inspirational! A Beautiful Read By A Beautiful Soul! I Loved It!

[Effie (she-her) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had no idea who Joey Graceffa was till two days ago, when my best friendtold me I had to watch his coming out video clip. He was once again right. It was one of the cutest things ever and had amazing cinematography too. So, when at the end of the video he said he had wrighten a book, I thought to give it a chance since I'd like to get to know why my friend likes him.

I wasn't disappointed at all. He talks about his hard childhood with an alcoholic mother and his learning disabilities, about bulling, coming out relationships, friendships and YouTube. And he does it with respect to himself and to others. To be honest, I never understood the need of people to share their lives with strangers, even tho my best friend does it too. I've witnessed people sharing so much personal stuff online, that there's nothing left for theirselves. I don't know how much of his personal life does Graceffa usually share on his videos, but in this book I never felt like he's oversharing. And for me that's a huge plus cause I didn't feel like he was trying to sell his personal life to his fans for money. At the end of every chapter he gives tips on how to deal with the situations he talked about and that's really important since he's probably a role model for thousands of people, especially teens. One other thing I liked about him was his humor. It was a book worth reading, even for someone who's not a fan.

[Anmol Sachdeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh My Goodness Gracianious

Well, Joey Graceffa it was so good to know more about you ! This is also the first memoir I've read and would to read more stories about the people whose videos I try to watch on a regular basis !

I have been subscribed to Joey for the past two-ish years and watch his videos, on a time-to-time basis, but when I heard he was writing a book about his past, I was excited and wanted it at once(cuz he's like my fav. youtuber :P )
So, In this book "In Real Life", Joey tells us about his alcoholic mother and how he spent his childhood supporting his mother and taking care of her and at times hiding away to save him from the embarassing pain for his mother's actions. He talks about his feminine personality, as a child and teenager which often confused people and made them think he was Gay, which he has finally come out to be. He tells us about his earlier Youtube project, WinterSpringPro and attending Vidcon, starting a separate channel, love for daily vlogging, the end of WPS and the start of new journey! His realising he's bi( actually Gay), trying to date guys, failing terribly at times but never giving up and now he has 5 million fans and they love his so much !

Much love, Joey "Damn" Graceffa

[Rick Pfleeger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit, I was completely shocked by how much I loved this book. Truly, this is how an autobiography (by a youtuber) should be written. I expected to like Connor Franta's book more than Joey's, but I ended up enjoying Joey's autobiography much more. In his book, Joey does a great job of simply telling a story - which, after all, is what writing a book (even an autobiography) is all about. I have read too many autobiographies in which the authors preach too much to the readers, providing them with life lesson after life lesson rather than focusing more on the actual art of telling the story of their life. I thought Joey's autobiography was so great because while I was reading it, I felt like I was reading any other novel. His dialogue felt so natural (even though much of it was likely made up because who can actually remember exactly what people have said to you in the past) and the anecdotes he shared with readers were unique, interesting, and intimate. Moreover, Joey has a great sense of humor throughout the book and truly succeeds in depicting himself as a flawed human being (rather than the perfect idol many of his fans make him out to be) who is writing this book to help people learn from the mistakes he has made in the past. Bravo, Joey!

[Kristy Frenken-Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

So I have been super reluctant to read books released by YouTubers, especially since SO MANY of them have been releasing books this past year or so, but when Simon & Schuster Canada asked if I wanted to read an ARC of Joey's book, I decided to give it a shot. Joey was one of the first YouTubers that I subscribed to, EVER, and while I'm not an avid watcher of all of his videos anymore, his was definitely a channel that brought happiness to my life a few years back and so I thought, hey, why not give this a shot. And honestly, I'm really happy that I did. In Real Life allows readers a candid glimpse into Joey's childhood, his struggles with his family, learning disabilities, and his sexuality. One of the reasons I have been reluctant to read a lot of the books that Youtubers have been releasing is because I didn't want anything that I could tell was manufactured by a team. Joey writes his stories and you can tell they're his: from the word choice, to the dialogue he uses, this book is genuinely Joey. I understand why a lot of people won't read any books that Youtubers write, but I'm truly glad I gave Joey's a chance.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea what I was in for. I watch both of Joey's current channels and he is never really that serious. I read the first three chapters and ended up looking like a waterfall. I felt way too many similarities and a few new devastating feelings. As the book went on I got kind of jealous because around the same time and nearly the same place I could have been doing what he did as a young teenager. After the little green envy monster left I was allowed to enjoy the ups and downs of Joey's new life in LA. I was finally seeing parallels in his book from real life (YouTube). It made me so happy. I admit I did get a little possessive over him but it's kind of necessary nearing the end. I wish there was more. There seemed to be a good chunk about his personal dating life that I selfishly think could have been home to more information but that is not my call to make. When I closed the book it left me wanting but at least I have his channels to look forward to everyday to pick up where the book left off.

[Allie Newill · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have the power and control to be whatever you want to be, no matter where you start in life
4.5 stars
oh my goodness gracianious
Before purchasing this this book i had watched Joey, not everyday but frequently, and i knew that I read the other YouTuber's memoirs and novels in a timely fashion. After the first chapter I was hooked, Joey lets you into to his personal life from his learning disability and how he was bullied for it to his coming out story.

Joey has such an inspiring story, his home life was a constant battle (to which he never won) and his mother is a long term alcoholic. This meant he didn't have that much time to be a kid and do kid things.

The story that really effected me was the story about how Joey ate lead paint chips and that is why he had a learning disability

I would recommend this to a viewer of Joey or of someone who wants to her an inspiring story.

[Richard Leis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't generally read memoir, but I was curious about the recent boom in books by YouTubers. Graceffa's book pretty much captures his YouTube persona: light but occasionally heavy, a little annoying, charming and endearing. There is something a little bit manufactured about the book, and the self-help parts are not especially unique, but it is also confessional and wears its heart on its sleeve. The positive and life-affirming messages are grounded by compelling anecdotes from his life. I like the modern and casual way LGBT people are coming out; it is just one small part of a whole person and doesn't require a magazine cover or press conference.

Graceffa's book doesn't inspire me to want to read more memoir, but I appreciate the apparent honesty and the graceful way he came out. This would have been a helpful book when I was coming out at the same age.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5
Audiobook: 4-4.5

[Arturo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well written book! Glad Joey took the time to write this book and open up to us about his life and how he's gotten to where he is! Welcome to the LGBT community also! :)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, yes I know this is a YouTuber book. Yes, I actually like reading those. And yes, I watch Joey Graceffas videos. This book is a memoir of YouTuber Joey Graceffas journey in life and how he started his YouTube channel. I really liked this book, and I almost cried at the beginning because I could relate to so much of what Joey went through. (Now mind you, it is REALLY hard for me to cry during books and movies. O would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a nonfiction book, or a memoir, and wants to maybe bawl their eyes out while laughing hysterically.

[Tobias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a massive fan of YouTube and (shamelessly) admit to spending a good half hour (perhaps more) watching videos about such things as a Japanese cat called Maru as well as the clever and funny content from BuzzFeed, not to mention repeatedly watching Charlie’s finger biting skills, so naturally I stumble across Joey Graceffa and it appears that he’s written a book no less!

I identified with a lot of what Joey has written about - less so with his family life, but definitely with the other aspects mentioned - the bullying and loneliness, his personal life issues and dating life, to perhaps the most drastic tactic of uprooting yourself and going on a journey to follow a passion as I’m doing that soon! It did feel at times like I could have written parts of this myself, which is scary…

Though the chapters do end with some life advice clearly aimed at people (dare I say a generation) much younger than myself, apparently autobiographies by people who produce online videos do work because I finished reading it within a week.

The message we're to take away from this is that it's not about where you begin or where you've come from but about where you end up.

To quote Joey himself: "If you don't spread your wings you won't discover how far you can fly."

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Cover!

Overall, I thought the book was very well presented & I especially like the How-to Tips on the old-style Notebook paper & all the family pictures.

The voice of the story was similar to the way Joey speaks & I thought perfect for his younger audience, since he's the guy they want to have a conversation with & not some anonymous ghost-writer.

The style of the writing is simple, or rather modest & unpretentious, straight-forward & easy to follow. I especially liked his honesty aka openness & vulnerability, all of which make him a very decent guy, in my opinion.

I was also impressed by his ability to confront a parent at such a young age – something I wish I could have done as a teenager & not have to wait so many years before I felt confident enough to express myself & let the world know that I had an opinion. And I cheered when he challenged the bully in class. Again, something I couldn’t do in high school.

I think Joey's book should be in every school library! In Real Life is a great tool or companion for kids in distress, to help give them some resolute insight & bolster their confidence.

“...take things at your own pace. It’s your life...”

– Jack Dunsmoor, author of the book, OK2BG