What do you think?
Rate this book
All About Yvie: Into the Oddity
The world’s oddest drag artist
This book is an intimate and in-depth look into the life of Yvie Oddly, winner of Season eleven of RuPaul's Drag Race. It begins with their childhood and then tells of their coming out and coming to terms with their sexuality, gender and how those things impact their journey as an artist. It then follows them through their experience on Drag Race (season 11 and All Stars, All Winners), and their rise to super stardom. It’s a close glimpse into their wonderful and sometimes turbulent relationships with their friends, family, and all the people they met along their journey. And it’s an exploration of Yvie’s unique expression of drag as an art form.
Yvie Oddly’s memoir will inspire readers as Yvie candidly shares their evolution into their current identity and learning to balance their private and public personas. Readers will follow them on a journey they will sympathize with, and many may even see themselves in their struggles.
This book is an intimate and in-depth look into the life of Yvie Oddly, winner of Season eleven of RuPaul's Drag Race. It begins with their childhood and then tells of their coming out and coming to terms with their sexuality, gender and how those things impact their journey as an artist. It then follows them through their experience on Drag Race (season 11 and All Stars, All Winners), and their rise to super stardom. It’s a close glimpse into their wonderful and sometimes turbulent relationships with their friends, family, and all the people they met along their journey. And it’s an exploration of Yvie’s unique expression of drag as an art form.
Yvie Oddly’s memoir will inspire readers as Yvie candidly shares their evolution into their current identity and learning to balance their private and public personas. Readers will follow them on a journey they will sympathize with, and many may even see themselves in their struggles.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published June 19, 2024
35 people are currently reading
2069 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
August 7, 2024
All About Yvie was a very interesting book, a biography of a drag queen. I won this book from Goodreads giveaway
August 6, 2024
2 generous stars, solely for the fact this is yvie oddly.
this is probably the most terribly written memoir (? if you can call it that) that i have ever read in my entire life. the writer tells in his own foreword at the start of the book that he’s a best-selling, award-winning author… of what? collections of essays for 7th grade English class?
yvie deserved a writer for this project who actually knows how to write a memoir, not some drag race super fan who started this as a pandemic pet project, who quotes wikipedia for definitions and who doesn’t for the life of him actually know how to write
this is probably the most terribly written memoir (? if you can call it that) that i have ever read in my entire life. the writer tells in his own foreword at the start of the book that he’s a best-selling, award-winning author… of what? collections of essays for 7th grade English class?
yvie deserved a writer for this project who actually knows how to write a memoir, not some drag race super fan who started this as a pandemic pet project, who quotes wikipedia for definitions and who doesn’t for the life of him actually know how to write
October 17, 2024
1.5/5 stars
Yvie Oddly is one of the most unique winners to come out of the reality competition show Rupaul’s Drag Race. So of course, as a superfan of the show, I wanted to read their memoir. Unfortunately, I think the structure and quality of writing does their story a disservice here. It read like a high school essay with some sentences reading as if they were copy and pasted directly from Google.
The decisions made on the structure of the novel were so mind boggling to me. I’m no avid memoir-reader myself but wouldn’t it have made more sense to tell the sequence of events in chronological order? For example, why place the story of Yvie meeting their husband Doug at the very end of the book when they met just as Season 11 was airing? Placing that part of Yvie’s narrative at its appropriate place in the timeline would have given context to how Doug was able to help them cope with the trials & tribulations that come with becoming famous overnight. I can see why perhaps the decision was made to dedicate a chapter to Doug near the end because he and Yvie’s love story spanned the time period from after season 11 to present, but it felt jarring to read. I believe a better structural decision would have been to introduce Doug after chapter 5 which details Yvie’s experience on Season 11. Allow the story to flow naturally and chronologically with reality would show how Yvie was feeling, how they needed support during that time in their life, and how Doug swept in at just the right moment. Then, continue to tell their story in snippets as the narrative goes on.
The most glaring structural issues were in chapter 5, where Yvie reflects on their experience on season 11. The chapter includes breaks in the text with paragraphs which summarize each episode from the season. These descriptions offer no insight on the episodes themselves and are purely a summary. So, logically, the reader would expect that the segments following each summary would focus on Yvie’s recollections about their state of mind at the time or behind the scenes details from that episode in particular. Instead, confusingly, the author writes a linear retelling of the season from Yvie’s perspective with the episode summaries inserted at seemingly random points. For example, under the bland description of episode 5, the author immediately jumps back in time and writes for a full page about a look Yvie wore in episode 3. Or after the summary of episode 8, the Snatch Game, which was a low point for Yvie in the season and would have been a great opportunity for the author to delve deeper into how Yvie came to terms with nearly losing the opportunity to achieve their dream. But instead, the text immediately launches forward in time to Episode 12 then discusses what happens after the show wrapped filming. Then, Yvie’s recounting of the feelings of anxiety and anticipation waiting for the season premiere is broken up with the summaries of the three remaining episodes? What was the thought process here? Perhaps the author is under the (probably correct) assumption that the reader has watched Season 11 and can be spared the details in the writing but the structure is again so confusing. I wish I had skimmed through this chapter and read all of the monotonous summaries first, then gone back and read through the actual writing.
A huge aspect of Yvie’s story is how they express their creativity through what they wear. I took issue with the amount of times a specific outfit was mentioned and there is no reference photo to be found in the book itself. Yes, we live in an age where you can put the book down and google the look but I feel that that takes away from the experience of reading a physical copy of a book. With the hard cover edition including around 45 full color images, some of that space could have been better used to show off the variety of work being referenced. Also, while I thoroughly enjoyed the inclusion of fan art throughout the book, about half of the art depicted Yvie wearing the same look (the glowing mushroom dress from All Stars 7). I feel like this could’ve been better spread out to show a diversity of not only Yvie’s art, but the art styles of the individual contributors.
The chapter which covers Yvie’s experience on the more recent season of All Stars 7 felt very rushed in my opinion. With how much attention was given to retelling season 11, all stars 7 felt glossed over. Yvie has been very open online that their experience on All stars was overall negative and they were extremely unhappy with their portrayal on the show, but that is barely mentioned. And why was the structure of chapter 5 not replicated here with summaries of each episode? I didn’t enjoy it in chapter 5 but I was expecting structural consistency.
Overall, I hope that Yvie gets another opportunity to tell the world their story in a medium that is better suited to them. Outsourcing the writing here not only felt inauthentic but confused their story to a head scratching degree. Far too much of the content was taken up by the the author interjecting with his own thoughts and writing style.
Yvie Oddly is one of the most unique winners to come out of the reality competition show Rupaul’s Drag Race. So of course, as a superfan of the show, I wanted to read their memoir. Unfortunately, I think the structure and quality of writing does their story a disservice here. It read like a high school essay with some sentences reading as if they were copy and pasted directly from Google.
The decisions made on the structure of the novel were so mind boggling to me. I’m no avid memoir-reader myself but wouldn’t it have made more sense to tell the sequence of events in chronological order? For example, why place the story of Yvie meeting their husband Doug at the very end of the book when they met just as Season 11 was airing? Placing that part of Yvie’s narrative at its appropriate place in the timeline would have given context to how Doug was able to help them cope with the trials & tribulations that come with becoming famous overnight. I can see why perhaps the decision was made to dedicate a chapter to Doug near the end because he and Yvie’s love story spanned the time period from after season 11 to present, but it felt jarring to read. I believe a better structural decision would have been to introduce Doug after chapter 5 which details Yvie’s experience on Season 11. Allow the story to flow naturally and chronologically with reality would show how Yvie was feeling, how they needed support during that time in their life, and how Doug swept in at just the right moment. Then, continue to tell their story in snippets as the narrative goes on.
The most glaring structural issues were in chapter 5, where Yvie reflects on their experience on season 11. The chapter includes breaks in the text with paragraphs which summarize each episode from the season. These descriptions offer no insight on the episodes themselves and are purely a summary. So, logically, the reader would expect that the segments following each summary would focus on Yvie’s recollections about their state of mind at the time or behind the scenes details from that episode in particular. Instead, confusingly, the author writes a linear retelling of the season from Yvie’s perspective with the episode summaries inserted at seemingly random points. For example, under the bland description of episode 5, the author immediately jumps back in time and writes for a full page about a look Yvie wore in episode 3. Or after the summary of episode 8, the Snatch Game, which was a low point for Yvie in the season and would have been a great opportunity for the author to delve deeper into how Yvie came to terms with nearly losing the opportunity to achieve their dream. But instead, the text immediately launches forward in time to Episode 12 then discusses what happens after the show wrapped filming. Then, Yvie’s recounting of the feelings of anxiety and anticipation waiting for the season premiere is broken up with the summaries of the three remaining episodes? What was the thought process here? Perhaps the author is under the (probably correct) assumption that the reader has watched Season 11 and can be spared the details in the writing but the structure is again so confusing. I wish I had skimmed through this chapter and read all of the monotonous summaries first, then gone back and read through the actual writing.
A huge aspect of Yvie’s story is how they express their creativity through what they wear. I took issue with the amount of times a specific outfit was mentioned and there is no reference photo to be found in the book itself. Yes, we live in an age where you can put the book down and google the look but I feel that that takes away from the experience of reading a physical copy of a book. With the hard cover edition including around 45 full color images, some of that space could have been better used to show off the variety of work being referenced. Also, while I thoroughly enjoyed the inclusion of fan art throughout the book, about half of the art depicted Yvie wearing the same look (the glowing mushroom dress from All Stars 7). I feel like this could’ve been better spread out to show a diversity of not only Yvie’s art, but the art styles of the individual contributors.
The chapter which covers Yvie’s experience on the more recent season of All Stars 7 felt very rushed in my opinion. With how much attention was given to retelling season 11, all stars 7 felt glossed over. Yvie has been very open online that their experience on All stars was overall negative and they were extremely unhappy with their portrayal on the show, but that is barely mentioned. And why was the structure of chapter 5 not replicated here with summaries of each episode? I didn’t enjoy it in chapter 5 but I was expecting structural consistency.
Overall, I hope that Yvie gets another opportunity to tell the world their story in a medium that is better suited to them. Outsourcing the writing here not only felt inauthentic but confused their story to a head scratching degree. Far too much of the content was taken up by the the author interjecting with his own thoughts and writing style.
October 22, 2024
I was excited to win this book in a Goodreads giveaway and I REALLY wanted to like it. I love memoirs, I love Drag Race, and I’m a fan of Yvie Oddly. Unfortunately, this book is not worth the time it takes to read. If it weren’t so short, I would have abandoned it without finishing. It’s written unlike any memoir I’ve ever read, in that the “ghost” writer introduces himself and narrates the entire thing in third person about Yvie. It’s written at about an eighth grade reading level, very basic and dull other than explicit language including sexual content. It is explained that the reason for the ghost writer’s involvement is that Yvie is not good at organizing their thoughts into words. You will see this play out in any of the long quotes from Yvie in the book. The book references several times that, essentially, Yvie is all over the place and doesn’t make sense, and chalks this up to them being enigmatic. I think that in reality, there really wasn’t enough material here for a memoir and/or the ghost writer isn’t talented enough to turn the story into something compelling. I suppose because it is written in the third person, the book is much more boastful than your average memoir and goes on and on throughout about how great Yvie is—I couldn’t begin to count how many times Yvie’s creativity was praised. Like, we get it, Yvie is creative and conceptual and that’s what makes them special. This book is just a summary of Yvie’s life and drag so far, I didn’t really feel that I learned much new information, and there’s certainly nothing in here to make one feel emotionally touched or moved. In fact, I was surprised to find that I came away from reading this liking Yvie less than I did when I went in. I’d suggest skipping this one unless you can get it for free/you’re an absolute Yvie super fan.
June 20, 2024
I voluntarily read and reviewed this advanced copy from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Yvie Oddly was my favorite drag queen from season 11 of RuPaul's Drag Race. When given the opportunity to read this book early, I leapt at the chance. Yvie is such a unique, original, and talented drag queen. Although she wasn't treated well on her 11th season and All Winners, she is dearly beloved by all her fans. I thought this story was well written and formulated in such an easy manner. I especially liked the breakdown of each episode and the inclusion of various fanart in between each chapter. I only wish there were pictures of her outfits instead of having to Google each runway look. I also especially hated the inclusion of Twitter in a full-length novel. I have a personal rule that whenever that particular social media platform is mentioned, I automatically deduct a star from the book's rating. I really enjoyed this memoir and hope to read more from drag queens in the future. Hopefully they can reach the bar that Yvie has set with this spectacular debut. May the odds be ever in your favor.
Yvie Oddly was my favorite drag queen from season 11 of RuPaul's Drag Race. When given the opportunity to read this book early, I leapt at the chance. Yvie is such a unique, original, and talented drag queen. Although she wasn't treated well on her 11th season and All Winners, she is dearly beloved by all her fans. I thought this story was well written and formulated in such an easy manner. I especially liked the breakdown of each episode and the inclusion of various fanart in between each chapter. I only wish there were pictures of her outfits instead of having to Google each runway look. I also especially hated the inclusion of Twitter in a full-length novel. I have a personal rule that whenever that particular social media platform is mentioned, I automatically deduct a star from the book's rating. I really enjoyed this memoir and hope to read more from drag queens in the future. Hopefully they can reach the bar that Yvie has set with this spectacular debut. May the odds be ever in your favor.
June 30, 2024
I loved getting inside Yvie Oddly's head and hearing about her time on Drag Race from her point of view. I did have some issues with the formatting of this, but in the end, I learned what I wanted to learn about this drag queen with whom I share a chronic illness.
Ironically I finished this after taking a few cannabis edibles to deal with my chronic pain, something Yvie talks about in the book. More thoughts when I'm back down on Earth.
Thank you so much to the publisher for the ARC!
Ironically I finished this after taking a few cannabis edibles to deal with my chronic pain, something Yvie talks about in the book. More thoughts when I'm back down on Earth.
Thank you so much to the publisher for the ARC!
August 29, 2024
Thank you to net galley for this book!
An interesting read for sure. I loved Yvie on drag race and she has an amazing story. From her child hood to presence day and living with a chronic illness. The writing itself isn’t the strongest element of this book but it’s a worth a read just for how compelling Yvie and her journey is.
An interesting read for sure. I loved Yvie on drag race and she has an amazing story. From her child hood to presence day and living with a chronic illness. The writing itself isn’t the strongest element of this book but it’s a worth a read just for how compelling Yvie and her journey is.
Read
August 19, 2024Thank you to NetGalley and the Greenleaf Book Group for an advanced reader copy of “All about Yvie”.
As a RuPaul’s drag race fan I was really excited when I saw this book on Netgalley and requested it immediately. Yvie was one of my favorite queens because of how different and ODD 😜 they were.
This book though was not my favorite with all of that considered. The style of writing jumped from narrative to then third person with almost like a narrator voice that was hard to follow at times. Some of the stories felt disjointed that were shared in the beginning depicting Yvie’s childhood and didn’t seem to flow.
Then once we got to the recap of before, during and after drag race it seemed to follow a direct 3rd person with first person direct quotes that at times felt repetitive and too long. I think I would have preferred it to be more first person if you are going to bring that view point in. I think it would have fit better doing one or the other, the mixing of 1st and 3rd was frustrating for me as a reader.
Random other thoughts:
- I feel like it’s trying too hard to show all sides and be unbiased, but then I want it to be biased because it’s about yvie
- though I like that it brings in some of the other queens and their experiences, I wanted it more focused on Yvie.
- snatch game was repeated right after each other in the episode recaps and felt unnecessary
Here’s my advice: if you can look past all of that you might love it! It didn’t necessarily change my opinion on Yvie and I still like them as a performer, but I had different expectations on what this book was going to be.
Thank you again NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group Press for the ARC.
As a RuPaul’s drag race fan I was really excited when I saw this book on Netgalley and requested it immediately. Yvie was one of my favorite queens because of how different and ODD 😜 they were.
This book though was not my favorite with all of that considered. The style of writing jumped from narrative to then third person with almost like a narrator voice that was hard to follow at times. Some of the stories felt disjointed that were shared in the beginning depicting Yvie’s childhood and didn’t seem to flow.
Then once we got to the recap of before, during and after drag race it seemed to follow a direct 3rd person with first person direct quotes that at times felt repetitive and too long. I think I would have preferred it to be more first person if you are going to bring that view point in. I think it would have fit better doing one or the other, the mixing of 1st and 3rd was frustrating for me as a reader.
Random other thoughts:
- I feel like it’s trying too hard to show all sides and be unbiased, but then I want it to be biased because it’s about yvie
- though I like that it brings in some of the other queens and their experiences, I wanted it more focused on Yvie.
- snatch game was repeated right after each other in the episode recaps and felt unnecessary
Here’s my advice: if you can look past all of that you might love it! It didn’t necessarily change my opinion on Yvie and I still like them as a performer, but I had different expectations on what this book was going to be.
Thank you again NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group Press for the ARC.
June 6, 2024
The format of this book is absolutely mind-boggling. Rather than being the co-writer or ghostwriter of Yvie's memoir and writing a first-person account in their voice, Michael Bach conducted extensive interviews with Yvie and their family and friends and presents those interviews as if this is a very long profile piece in a magazine. It's all third person, with Bach interjecting frequently to offer context, definitions, asides, and even his own opinions, all of which makes this book feel like you're reading a poorly-written research paper. It's audacious, but it falls completely flat and makes for a very boring read.
On top of that, the content is lacking, which is a common complaint I have with books by Ru Girls (see: Lawrence Cheney, Kita Mean, Bimini Bon Boulash,) because they just don't have the lived experience or perspective to fill a book. There are also massive holes in Yvie's story (no mention of how they were diagnosed with hEDS, for example), and there are very few specific, detailed stories of any episodes in their life... likely because the book is pieced together with what information Bach had. There's also a tone of bitterness Yvie takes when discussing their runs on Drag Race and subsequent fame, including accusing producers of fixing All Winners for Jinkx to win and inviting Yvie just to be another body in the room.
There's a passage where Yvie condemns the Drag Race judges for a critique that was cut from the season when they said Yvie doesn't know who they are and that comes through in their performances. And honestly? I read this whole book and don't really feel like I know who Yvie is either.
On top of that, the content is lacking, which is a common complaint I have with books by Ru Girls (see: Lawrence Cheney, Kita Mean, Bimini Bon Boulash,) because they just don't have the lived experience or perspective to fill a book. There are also massive holes in Yvie's story (no mention of how they were diagnosed with hEDS, for example), and there are very few specific, detailed stories of any episodes in their life... likely because the book is pieced together with what information Bach had. There's also a tone of bitterness Yvie takes when discussing their runs on Drag Race and subsequent fame, including accusing producers of fixing All Winners for Jinkx to win and inviting Yvie just to be another body in the room.
There's a passage where Yvie condemns the Drag Race judges for a critique that was cut from the season when they said Yvie doesn't know who they are and that comes through in their performances. And honestly? I read this whole book and don't really feel like I know who Yvie is either.
July 16, 2024
Honestly 0/5 the only redeeming qualities to this book was that it was short.
A memoir should have a theme that most/all the stories ladder up to. Otherwise it is just a series of rambling tales that come one after another.
This book was the latter. It was just story after story that kind of trialed off. One story went kind of like “so I went to Ross and bought a dress and it was red and that was my first time doing drag in my Ross dress” and like ok so why does that matter how did it make you feel what did it mean to you? Nope, none of that. Just one time I did drag and then that was the first time I did drag!
This just so clearly read as a man (Michael) who is weirdly grumpy he quit drag before it became mainstream with drag race (he says outright if it had aired a few years earlier he probably would have auditioned) so he wants to be peripherally involved. So he reached out to Yvie who saw that if they spent a couple hours on the phone they could make some coin.
ALSO—no fact checking was done. There were mistakes in the recaps of the season 11 episodes that I noticed, and I am not a particularly detailed oriented person, and also am not being paid to find these mistakes. If you are going to write a book and charge money for it at least pretend you did some of the required work.
Overall, this is truly one of the worst memoirs I have ever read. The only good this about it is that I now have learned it doesn’t matter how much I find the person interesting, wild life experience does not a good memoir make.
A memoir should have a theme that most/all the stories ladder up to. Otherwise it is just a series of rambling tales that come one after another.
This book was the latter. It was just story after story that kind of trialed off. One story went kind of like “so I went to Ross and bought a dress and it was red and that was my first time doing drag in my Ross dress” and like ok so why does that matter how did it make you feel what did it mean to you? Nope, none of that. Just one time I did drag and then that was the first time I did drag!
This just so clearly read as a man (Michael) who is weirdly grumpy he quit drag before it became mainstream with drag race (he says outright if it had aired a few years earlier he probably would have auditioned) so he wants to be peripherally involved. So he reached out to Yvie who saw that if they spent a couple hours on the phone they could make some coin.
ALSO—no fact checking was done. There were mistakes in the recaps of the season 11 episodes that I noticed, and I am not a particularly detailed oriented person, and also am not being paid to find these mistakes. If you are going to write a book and charge money for it at least pretend you did some of the required work.
Overall, this is truly one of the worst memoirs I have ever read. The only good this about it is that I now have learned it doesn’t matter how much I find the person interesting, wild life experience does not a good memoir make.
May 30, 2024
As a drag race superfan who got into RPDR in 2020, I was very excited to read this book! In fact, I started watching with the 11th season, so Yvie was my first winner and I was wowed by their originality and creativity.
But gradually with reading this book my opinions shifted🥲 I saw a very negative, petty, messy and whiny side of Yvie who is unhappy with other queens, production, feels like everything is built against her and everything is rigged against her.
The book didn’t feel personal because it was told in third person - not the best decision for a memoir type of book! But since we’re talking about the genre, it’s also worth nothing that Yvie doesn’t have as much to say to fill a whole book, she didn’t have enough of life experience imo to warrant that. Not enough content.
I don’t see why Instagram artists work were used throughout the book, can we just see them in social media? Then it’s not original and why include it in the book? Pictures should have been included there yet they were in the end of the book.
It was hard for me to connect personally with Yvie. However any drag race tea is interesting and learning how the preparation for the show works, learning about the backstage of the show was a plus!
Thank you to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for the access to this book!
But gradually with reading this book my opinions shifted🥲 I saw a very negative, petty, messy and whiny side of Yvie who is unhappy with other queens, production, feels like everything is built against her and everything is rigged against her.
The book didn’t feel personal because it was told in third person - not the best decision for a memoir type of book! But since we’re talking about the genre, it’s also worth nothing that Yvie doesn’t have as much to say to fill a whole book, she didn’t have enough of life experience imo to warrant that. Not enough content.
I don’t see why Instagram artists work were used throughout the book, can we just see them in social media? Then it’s not original and why include it in the book? Pictures should have been included there yet they were in the end of the book.
It was hard for me to connect personally with Yvie. However any drag race tea is interesting and learning how the preparation for the show works, learning about the backstage of the show was a plus!
Thank you to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for the access to this book!
June 18, 2024
3.5 stars-Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, releasing June 19th!
I'm a huge fan of Yvie and was so excited to get this as an ARC! Like others, I wasn't a huge fan of the style of the book, much of which reads in third person like a long interview. I absolutely loved hearing directly from Yvie and reading about more of their experiences, the Yvie-led content was great-I just wish there had been less "what Yvie is saying here is" explanations from their co-writer. Some of the formatting also felt a bit hard to follow (specifically in the section recapping the season 11 episodes, where we would jump ahead to post-show experiences before coming back to the next episode, which was kind of going in reverse chronologically)-the formatting with some of the fanart and images was also odd (no pun intended) but I think that was more due to the ARC formatting, and I assume this won't be an issue in the published copy. Anyway, huge fan of Yvie, and really enjoyed hearing from them, other queens who know them, and close family and friends, I just wish there had been a bit less of their co-author in the structure of the book.
I'm a huge fan of Yvie and was so excited to get this as an ARC! Like others, I wasn't a huge fan of the style of the book, much of which reads in third person like a long interview. I absolutely loved hearing directly from Yvie and reading about more of their experiences, the Yvie-led content was great-I just wish there had been less "what Yvie is saying here is" explanations from their co-writer. Some of the formatting also felt a bit hard to follow (specifically in the section recapping the season 11 episodes, where we would jump ahead to post-show experiences before coming back to the next episode, which was kind of going in reverse chronologically)-the formatting with some of the fanart and images was also odd (no pun intended) but I think that was more due to the ARC formatting, and I assume this won't be an issue in the published copy. Anyway, huge fan of Yvie, and really enjoyed hearing from them, other queens who know them, and close family and friends, I just wish there had been a bit less of their co-author in the structure of the book.
Read
April 24, 2024I absolutely love Yvie. They were my favorite through the entirety of Drag Race season 11 and I was so happy to see them back on AS7.
Because I love them so much, this is a hard book for me to rate. It's not actually written by Yvie, so it was kind of hard for me to follow sometimes. It kind of felt more like reading a magazine article or something instead of a book, so I had to go back and re-read things sometimes because my brain wasn't fully absorbing it.
I enjoyed hearing about how Yvie got into drag, their perspective on both seasons of drag race, and their life during/after, but it overall felt a little unfinished. I think it would have benefitted from having pictures included throughout, like some of the other drag queens' books I've read.
Like I said, I love Yvie so much and I enjoyed the book, but I was just expecting a bit more.
Thank you to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for the ARC!
Because I love them so much, this is a hard book for me to rate. It's not actually written by Yvie, so it was kind of hard for me to follow sometimes. It kind of felt more like reading a magazine article or something instead of a book, so I had to go back and re-read things sometimes because my brain wasn't fully absorbing it.
I enjoyed hearing about how Yvie got into drag, their perspective on both seasons of drag race, and their life during/after, but it overall felt a little unfinished. I think it would have benefitted from having pictures included throughout, like some of the other drag queens' books I've read.
Like I said, I love Yvie so much and I enjoyed the book, but I was just expecting a bit more.
Thank you to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for the ARC!
August 27, 2024
I'm a big fan of Yvie Oddly, so I was excited to read this ARC. However, I was left rather disappointed.
While Yvie's input was great and I enjoyed reading all of their thoughts and story in their own words, the commentary in this memoir felt clinical at times. It was like it was being written for both fans of Drag Race and people who have never heard of drag. There would be a "but you already know that" comment right beside an extensive breakdown of something any fan of drag would already know, so I really couldn't tell who the audience for this book was supposed to be. The organization of the book was also lacking and kept it from having the punch I really think Yvie's story is capable of.
I think that if you're interested in hearing Yvie's thoughts along with that of their family and friends, it's a fun read. But I definitely think it could be more.
Thank you to Greenleaf Book Group and netgalley for the ARC.
While Yvie's input was great and I enjoyed reading all of their thoughts and story in their own words, the commentary in this memoir felt clinical at times. It was like it was being written for both fans of Drag Race and people who have never heard of drag. There would be a "but you already know that" comment right beside an extensive breakdown of something any fan of drag would already know, so I really couldn't tell who the audience for this book was supposed to be. The organization of the book was also lacking and kept it from having the punch I really think Yvie's story is capable of.
I think that if you're interested in hearing Yvie's thoughts along with that of their family and friends, it's a fun read. But I definitely think it could be more.
Thank you to Greenleaf Book Group and netgalley for the ARC.
June 24, 2024
Don’t get the low reviews??? This book was deeply relatable and extremly detailed and sad but also so happy and thoughtful I finished it in one sitting. Don’t be wusses embrace the oddity
September 13, 2024
Realistically I would give this a 3.5 I love the stories Yvie brought for this book. But the coauthor’s writing style just wasn’t my personal style.
November 6, 2024
Interesting story but atrociously written
April 12, 2025
Five stars for Yvie and one star for the ghostwriter who interjected opinions and ego throughout the entire book.
July 3, 2025
As a Fan of unconventional Queens I am very delighted to Support and be able to have Something of Them in my bookwall ❤️
Its always refreshing when someone hast No Filter even though they were on a televisionshow.
much Love to you yvie and thanks for the eyecandy you put in there!
Its always refreshing when someone hast No Filter even though they were on a televisionshow.
much Love to you yvie and thanks for the eyecandy you put in there!
January 19, 2025
2 stars because i love yvie but i really wish this was in their voice instead of some random other guy’s. fully agree with other reviewers saying it feels more like a really long repetitive interview than a memoir. truly a missed opportunity because yvie is so creative and cool and interesting, but the structure and writing style of this book keep it from hitting the mark in any of those areas.
July 26, 2025
5/5 | I love Yvie. After this I love her even more. That’s all. 💖
December 12, 2024
Wonderful insight into Yvie and Drag Race
I loved all the background information and details on both Yvies life and how drag race works behind the scenes. Amazing read!
I loved all the background information and details on both Yvies life and how drag race works behind the scenes. Amazing read!
July 29, 2024
I enjoyed the fan art, that was a fun addition. Learned some little tidbits about Drag Race and a little more about Yvie. The writing style was a bit confusing, I had no idea who was being quoted several times and the timeline for the Drag Race chapter was all over the place.
Won this as a Goodreads giveaway.
Won this as a Goodreads giveaway.
January 5, 2025
Book 6/13 of birthday haul, October 2024
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because I am a fan of Yvie Oddly. This memoir touches mostly on her emergence as a drag queen through her time on RuPaul's Drag Race. As much as I enjoyed reading this, I feel this memoir will mostly be of interest to Drag Race or Yvie Oddly fans. The writing is just ok, and the chapter breaks aren't really interesting. But I'm glad I read it.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because I am a fan of Yvie Oddly. This memoir touches mostly on her emergence as a drag queen through her time on RuPaul's Drag Race. As much as I enjoyed reading this, I feel this memoir will mostly be of interest to Drag Race or Yvie Oddly fans. The writing is just ok, and the chapter breaks aren't really interesting. But I'm glad I read it.
July 21, 2024
I am a big fan of Yvie Oddly and enjoyed learning more about who Yvie is outside of a drag competition show. The interview style of the writing was off-putting.
July 31, 2024
I loved yvies voice. I loved her rawness, and when she was talking, her thoughts and actual troubles it made me want to read more... the writer not so much. it was like reading a news article when he used HIS voice... such a disservice to the book.
and man, this book could have been elevated with real pictures of their moments. I'm not a big fan of the art. It did nothing for the book.
and man, this book could have been elevated with real pictures of their moments. I'm not a big fan of the art. It did nothing for the book.
July 8, 2024
I enjoyed the book. It had interesting background about RPDR that I hadn't been aware of. Having photos in the chapters would have been nice, rather than just at the very end.
May 4, 2024
ARC
“All About Yvie: Into the Oddity” is a candid look into Yvie Oddly’s world, pulling back the curtain on their upbringing, relationships, and time on “RuPaul’s Drag Race”. This memoir offers context for their brand of drag, tracing the roots within their personal life that lead them to become the star they are. There is a surprising amount of vulnerability here, especially when discussing their time in production on the television series.
My biggest qualm with this memoir was the fact that, for the most part, it felt impersonal. It feels more like an extensive interview, told in a third person perspective, rather than first person. With this, we lose a lot of personality, which does shine in the quoted sections, but is missing from the rest of the memoir. I understand there was another person helping with the writing, but it would have been nice to feel like we were inside Yvie’s world, rather than being an outsider looking in.
Overall, this is a fun read for those wanting to know a bit more about one of Drag Race’s oddest contestants. I love Yvie and have had the wonderful opportunity of seeing them perform, so this really was a pleasure to read.
“All About Yvie: Into the Oddity” is a candid look into Yvie Oddly’s world, pulling back the curtain on their upbringing, relationships, and time on “RuPaul’s Drag Race”. This memoir offers context for their brand of drag, tracing the roots within their personal life that lead them to become the star they are. There is a surprising amount of vulnerability here, especially when discussing their time in production on the television series.
My biggest qualm with this memoir was the fact that, for the most part, it felt impersonal. It feels more like an extensive interview, told in a third person perspective, rather than first person. With this, we lose a lot of personality, which does shine in the quoted sections, but is missing from the rest of the memoir. I understand there was another person helping with the writing, but it would have been nice to feel like we were inside Yvie’s world, rather than being an outsider looking in.
Overall, this is a fun read for those wanting to know a bit more about one of Drag Race’s oddest contestants. I love Yvie and have had the wonderful opportunity of seeing them perform, so this really was a pleasure to read.
June 18, 2024
I've been a big fan of Yvie Oddly since their season of Drag Race and was very excited to read this memoir.
I really enjoyed this glimpse in to Yvie's childhood, the start of their drag career, and the evolution of Yvie Oddly. It was fun reading about the different iterations of their drag persona and how Yvie came to be. I loved reading the behind the scenes scoop of being on Drag Race, both times, and it was interesting to read about the impact of the show on their life - both positive and negative.
As I read about their time on Drag Race, I kept having to look up clips of the parts discussed -- it was fun to revisit.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for an engaging memoir!
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!
I really enjoyed this glimpse in to Yvie's childhood, the start of their drag career, and the evolution of Yvie Oddly. It was fun reading about the different iterations of their drag persona and how Yvie came to be. I loved reading the behind the scenes scoop of being on Drag Race, both times, and it was interesting to read about the impact of the show on their life - both positive and negative.
As I read about their time on Drag Race, I kept having to look up clips of the parts discussed -- it was fun to revisit.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for an engaging memoir!
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!
June 29, 2024
Yvie Oddly is cool AF.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews