Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a Grown-up

by Grace Helbig

"One of the sharpest, funniest voices on YouTube" (Forbes), comedian Grace Helbig offers an irreverent and illustrated guide to life for anyone faced with the challenge of growing up.

Face it—being a young adult in the digital era is one of the hardest things to be. Well, maybe there are harder things in life…but being an adult is difficult! So Grace Helbig has written a guide that’s perfect for anyone who is faced with the daunting task of becoming an adult.

Infused with her trademark saucy, sweet, and funny voice, Grace’s Guide is a tongue-in-cheek handbook for millennials, encompassing everything a young or new (or regular or old) adult needs to know, from surviving a breakup to recovering from a hangover. Beautifully illustrated and full-color, Grace’s Guide features interactive elements and exclusive stories from Grace’s own misadventures—like losing her virginity solely because her date took her to a Macaroni Grill—and many other hilarious lessons she learned the hard way.

Amusing and unexpectedly educational, this refreshing and colorful guide proves that becoming an adult doesn’t necessarily mean you have to grow up.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Memoir, Self Help, Audiobook, Biography, Comedy

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2014

About the author

Oh, hello. My name is Grace Helbig. I’m desperately seeking your attention as a vlogger, writer and comedic performer. I created and self-produced the IAWTV and Streamy award winning web series Daily Grace. NOW I’ve launched and self-produce the web series itsGrace.

My friends, Hannah Hart and Mamrie Hart, and myself have recently released our FIRST FEATURE FILM, Camp Takota!

I’ve been seen on Comedy Central’s @midnight. G4’s Attack of the Show, NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice, MTV’s Money From Strangers, TheFineBros’ MyMusic, a handful of Lowes commercials and a butt ton of YouTube videos. If you want, you can read more about me on Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grace Helbig - the beauty guru, the adventure seeker and the fashion commentator - has written the seminal millennial advice book.

Told with her signature sass and humor, Grace dishes what she uses to motivate herself to get ahead.

"I like to watch beauty gurus who are younger than me on YouTube to get inspired to take showers. Even just thinking about them is making me pissed and somehow motivated."

I've watched quite a few episodes - I love when she comments on all the crazy celebrity outfits! - and I was really impressed with she took her condensed 3-10 minute videos and translated it into this book.

Grace absolutely owns this advice-giving niche. She pairs her down-to-earth outlook with such a quirky, hilarious motivational phrases. Such as:

"But there’s no need to be discouraged, you skin-covered meat puppet of potential."

I especially enjoyed when Grace reminisces about the launch of her Youtube career - so many times, we only become aware of the Youtubers once they've reached their prime and miss so many months (years) of behind-the-scenes work.

If you are looking for a quick, fun read - then look no farther! And always remember:

"Don't sit under an orange tree waiting for apples to grow."

Audiobook Comments
Read by the author! She was an absolutely fabulous reader. Great comedic timing and tone.

YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

[Penny Cipolone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer right up front -- I was Grace Helbig's Latin teacher for five years so some may see me as biased. That said, I laughed, I cried (well actually I laughed so much I cried)as I read this wonderful book. Grace has grown up to be a marvelous comedian, and I am sorry that up until now I have missed so much of her journey. Hey - I taught Latin for 42 years, not exactly from the YouTube generation. "Grace's Guide" is wicked funny and wicked smart. All my JCL friends should take note of her version of young love at the University of Kentucky National Convention pp. 120-123. Spot on teen-age view of the JCL mating ritual. Take it with a grain of salt, and just laugh. BTW - Grace, you were NEVER assigned to a co-ed dorm. I'll chalk that up to literary license.
Whether Grace is advising you on job interviews, travel tips, or how to survive a hangover, her writing is just plain fun, self-deprecating, and down-to-earth. She is also to be commended for including her mother's words of wisdom wherever possible. BUY THIS BOOK !!!!!

[Whitney Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read YouTuber’s advice books with a grain of salt because the advice is generic and even repetitive if you’ve read several of these kinds of books, but I wanted to pick this up because I really respect Grace Helbig and I’ve listened to her podcast and I like her tone of humor. This was a fun and quick listen on audiobook, but once again, not life altering.

[Maxwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

So first of all I want to say that I love Grace Helbig. I've been a fan of hers for years, and I've really enjoyed following her career as she has expanded beyond her personal YouTube channel. That being said, I didn't think this book was necessarily her best comedy. That being said, I don't think she was necessarily shooting for the same comedy that she normally does with this. It was very much a millennial's guide to adulting, which you can fully expect from the title of this book. One caveat of listening to the audiobook for this one is that while her narration is wonderful, the structure of the book creates a really redundant feeling. Almost all of the book is made up of lists of different kinds. Whether that's tips for dating, socializing or interviewing for a job, Grace has 10-50 tips to get you through these quarter-life experiences. While they are entertaining and even at times helpful, listening to her reading lists over and over become a bit tiresome. I'm sure this book works a lot better in print, especially because I know it's full of graphics and images of Grace alongside her tips & tricks to navigating young adulthood. Overall still a quick, enjoyable read. But I'd say if you're interested, skip the audiobook and check out the print version for full effect.

[Tan Markovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars!

Listened to on Scribd!

A very fun, quick and light hearted read which made me laugh out loud!

I used to watch Grace on YouTube in the early EARLY days of YouTube…but I stopped watching the past…maybe 5 years? The oversaturation of YouTube and new content creators coming out may be why…and I just didn’t really feel connected to her and her content.

Having said this, this book definitely reminded me why I loved Grace all them years ago. She speaks about her struggle with anxiety and although dealt with with humour, I have definitely taken something away from her stories.

Her life advice was hilarious and although it wasn’t made to be taken seriously, some of it will definitely help me in pretending I’m an adult :’)

If you’re a fan of Grace I would highly recommend.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kind of want to give everyone I know a copy of this book.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone knows Grace from her YouTube channel, right? Right. I love her. I used to watch her religiously, but then my kids took over my life. I still check in every once in a while and I still love what I see so I was excited to review her first book. It's all about being a grown up, which I already am, but I'm still learning! She has some adult survival tips that I absolutely identify with, like, "You can get it at Target." While a lot of the book is tongue-in-cheek and written exactly how she speaks, Grace covers real issues like interviewing for a job, surviving school and office life, managing anxiety, and making adult friends. She shares dating advice, home decor, party and travel tips, and even explains how to enjoy alone time. The book is filled with pictures of her adorable face, fun worksheets, and easy recipes. While it didn't really apply to me, I thought it was a cute book and would make a fun gift for a college student in your life.

I received this book from NetGalley for review purposes.

[Kimberley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helping hand in disguise! Don't be fooled by the sarcasm, this book actually is a legitimate guide to being a grown-up. Written in her signature witty charm, Grace's voice infuses this pseudo-self-help guide with humour, reflection, and true understanding of what it's like to be an 'adultolescent'. Filled with nuggets of wisdom on each page(and some of mom's timeless advice)this book is thoroughly enjoyable to read. As a young, 22 year old facing the challenges of finding myself and standing on my own two feet, I couldn't have asked for a more appropriate guide to navigating the choppy seas of adulthood. Despite Grace's signature sign-off, "I don't know", she proves she really does know. And she is kind enough to share her life happenings with us in the hopes of helping us grow into adulthood with a few less bumps in the road. The internet's older sister has brought her wisdom to the literary world, and I couldn't be more excited!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather disappointed by this. I expected the wit, humour and fun that we all know and love from Grace's videos, but this was definitely something different.

[Monica Fumarolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious and heartfelt guide for me and my fellow Millennials who are trying to navigate this whole "adulting" thing, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can easily see myself buying it for friends and rereading it in the years to come. Helbig's conversational style makes me feel like we could have been friends in college (had either of us known how to socialize in real life - if only a guide like this had existed back then!).

Full Thoughts:
For how long have people said that there's not a guide book for how to be a grown up? Well, now there is!

Known for her hilarious videos on YouTube, Grace Helbig dishes out plenty of food for thought five days a week on her channel it'sGrace to her 1.9 million subscribers. In a guidebook tailor-made for Millennials (though you don't have to be one to enjoy this), life gets broken down into easy-to-manage chunks, each section's advice resulting in a hashtag acronyms to help you remember. The guide is both practical and humorous as it is dotted with plenty of anecdotes from Helbig's life, both things her viewers may have seen before as well as secrets coming to light. It's not enough to count as a memoir, but again, it enhances the conversational feel of the entries.

All in all, I can't say enough great things about this book or Grace herself whom I was lucky enough to meet when she was on tour for this release. At an event with over 200 people, she took selfies with everybody and though she's a self-proclaimed introvert and "the Internet's awkward older sister", she seemed at ease and made every person feel special, like a friend, like we weren't alone.

[Veronica Morfi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable to listen to. I am a recent fan of Grace (since This Might Get started airing on YouTube), so I didn't know much about her past and this was a very interesting look into her life.

[Dana Aldee · Rating 5 out of 5]

There may be way too many Youtuber books out there nowadays yet Grace’s stands alone like no other. Not only does Grace share some personal comedic, heartfelt stories in the book, she also includes arts & crafts for you to use creatively. Loved it!

[Kati · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had a love/hate relationship with Grace, but she is an extremely witty and funny person. She writes a lot like she vlogs - honestly and sometimes a little off point. But she offers some real advice along with some heartwarming anecdotes that make this a read you want curl up with to cheer you up after a bad day. Overall, her book doesn't disappoint, and I am excited to buy a copy when it comes out!

[Vale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si te gusta Grace, te gustará este libro. Es totalmente ella

[Dana Burkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like her YouTube videos this was utter perfection! I laughed so many times and at one point though I should count all the "poop" "fart" and general bathroom comments, but it would be WAY TOO MANY to keep track of! This is just another reason I love Grace so much!!!

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Please support my blog and read my non-spoiler review here: http://adventures-in-polishland.com/2...

I’ve been a big fan of Grace Helbig’s YouTube videos for years, and was very excited to find out she was releasing her first book, Grace’s Guide, back in 2014. I was so excited, in fact, that I attended her book tour and got to meet Grace at Housing Works Bookstore in New York. For some reason I waited two years to read the book, and finally picked it up to read for my 2016 Popsugar Reading Challenge. Unfortunately, Grace’s Guide was a big disappointment for me, and I am so sad I didn’t enjoy the book more.

Grace’s Guide is a nonfiction book designed to give millennials life advice on everything from college life to finding a job to dating in the 21st century and more. My main problem with the book is that none of the advice Grace gives is anything but common knowledge. In fact, I did not learn one new thing while reading this book even though I am in the target demographic. Perhaps some of Grace’s tips can be nice reminders for some readers, but I honestly don’t think anyone will learn much from this book.

Similarly, I found Grace’s Guide to be a huge gimmick. For instance, most sections of the book end with an unhelpful acronym to help readers remember Grace’s advice. However, it became clear that some of the tips in the book were added in simply to fit within the acronyms. An example of this is spelling the word clean with a K to fill in the phrase “Work Poot” at the end of the chapter on the workplace. In the same way, while I enjoyed the plethora of high quality photographs in the pages of Grace’s Guide they felt too much like filler for lack of actual content.

I would love to think that the reason the advice in the book isn’t more helpful is because Grace’s Guide is supposed to be comedic. Unfortunately, the tone of the book is not very strong. While I did have some laughs while reading, the book isn’t funny enough to be deemed pure comedy, and it’s not serious or helpful enough to be a true guide book. Thus, Grace’s Guide falls somewhere in an uncomfortable middle state.

My favorite parts of the book, on the other hand, are the personal stories that Grace shares about her life. I really like learning more about Grace and what she’s experienced. I think Grace is a person with whom a lot of us can easily connect, and that’s why I wish we got more of Grace and less of the gimmicky acronyms and photos. Plus, I still felt like Grace was holding back a lot of herself, and her story got a bit jumbled due to this. For example, at one point Grace mentions that she moved in with her boyfriend after college, but two paragraphs later she is moving in with her college roommate after college. It seems things don’t add up because a lot of information is left out of the narrative.

For all of these reasons, I don’t recommend picking up Grace’s Guide unless you are a Grace superfan who wishes to support her by buying a copy of her book. I will not be reading her subsequent book entitled Grace & Style, because I feel like it will be in the same vein of this book. That being said, if Grace ever releases a memoir or a book of personal essays, I would consider giving that a read because I did like learning more about her. It’s a shame that I did not enjoy this book, but I still love watching Grace’s videos and will continue to support her career.

[Tiffany Day · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've not watched any of Grace's blogs; however, I've enjoyed her appearances on @midnight. So, I was expecting a really funny book. I thought from the title it might be a witty collection of essays about her life experiences or maybe a tongue-in-cheek lifestyle guru's supposed sage wisdom. It is neither. Instead, it's basically a self-help book for young adults who've never left their home - ever. It's filled with gems like, "go out." "Meet people." "Take Advil when you're hungover." ...idk - I just wasn't feeling it. Then she'd pull out old comic toppers like "stay away from people who use lol'" and "avoid chain restaurants" - but I lost track of the number of times she dropped "irl," and her collection of "recipes" were all for food-like substances (Contradictions! Funny?) The only thing I really got for the take away is she loves deodorant, has a bad stomach, got a full ride to college, and studied abroad.

I listened to the audio version. Usually, that is my preference for the comedy genre- you get their delivery in their voice... but maybe that was a mistake here. I might have liked it better had I skimmed a hard copy. On the other hand, it's one of the main reasons I finished it: I put it on while doing holiday decorating and cleaning. Which leads me to my greatest frustration - the tracks were so looong. It was difficult to find stop points because each track was a huge commitment.

Anyways, idk what to give it. The first half I'd have said 3 stars, but I was so bored that by the end, I felt like only 1. I compromised with 2.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review and others can be found at Where's My Bookmark?

Such a fun book full of Grace’s humor and chock full of funny photographs. I loved every minute of this book. I am a long time fan of Grace and I knew I needed this book (or at least read it).

Reminiscent of her vlogging style, Grace’s Guide features her unique humor, coupled with great (and humorous) advice for everyday obstacles such as traveling, attending parties, and how to survive the walk of shame.

It was so much fun to read and I loved all the creative photos and personal anecdotes she sprinkled throughout the book.

It’s easy to jump around in this book since it’s just Grace offering advice and being funny.

This book is definitely aimed at millennials or at least young adults embarking and starting their journey out into the ‘real world’.

Read if you like: non fiction, self-help/advice books, humor

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been watching Grace on YouTube for a few years now, so I had to show some support and read her book. Now she has her own TV show on E! and she is becoming a lot more famous (I'm so happy for her, she definitely deserves it). I think she's funny because she's easy to relate to. She's awkward, but not so much that it seems fake or TOO weird. I think that's what makes this book so great. She talks a lot about her social anxiety and how she deals with it. A lot of her comedy seems to be based on this social anxiety, and I didn't realize exactly how real of a problem it was for her.

I expected this to be a comedy book and it wouldn't offer any advice anyone could actually use, and I was wrong. Grace actually has advice that a lot of people could find beneficial. It's well written and still funny too. I really enjoyed reading it.

[Rachel Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember being woken up at 10:30am by the amazon.ca guy giving me this book and then reading the whole thing starting right then and there.

This book was everything I needed in that moment. Grace talks about the realest stuff I think you could ever talk about: relationships, family, parties, anxiety, life in general...

This book had amazing advice and Im not just saying that because its a guide book. Im currently in university and this book was so relatable to many situations you face in school and life. Not to mention so entertaining.

Read this book, trust me, its good.

This is truly my university/getting into the grown up world bible.

The grown up world is terrifying by the way but Grace lets you know it will all be ok and sometimes just that bit of reassurance when you really need it can help more than you know.

[Nicholle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why on earth did I pick up a "celebrity" advice book by someone I'd never heard of before who is mainly famous on all the social media stuff I don't use and who gives advice on things I probably should have mastered at least 10 years ago? I have no earthly idea, but it was fun and funny and just the thing I needed to get out of my reading rut. Grace is like a young Tina Fey in Kate Middleton wrapping. And she swears just the right amount.

Oh, also I do know why I picked this book up. It's because most days I don't feel like I have this "adult" thing down at all, and still need all the "advice" I can get.
***
#13 - Book with a female heroine

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for Christmas, and flipped through it as soon as I got it! With its gorgeous design and Grace's hilarious way of story telling, this is book just feels like a party to read. Also, the paper quality is insanely nice. I'd probably spend a few hours a day just stroking that paper if that wouldn't be a weird thing to do. Anyway. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone, even to those who aren't familiar with Grace. It's an amazingly fun read and I'm sure I'll pick it up lots of time just to flip through it!

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up from the library based mostly on the premise that this would help me be an adult or at least realize it's not so hard to pretend. And because Grace Helbig, while I don't have much experience with her, seems very funny. I mostly know of her from knowing of Hannah Hart.

This is definitely worth the read, especially for fans of mostly clean, awkward girl humor. It's broken into various sections of self-help and there are a ton of funny and occasionally self-deprecating pictures. This book was funny and gave me a little less anxiety about growing up.

[erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first audio book, and I really enjoyed it. It was the perfect book for that format, especially due to the fact that it was actually narrated by Grace Helbig. It was like she was reading me a hilariously inappropriate bedtime story each night. Overall, recommend if you watch Grace, and if you don't, you'll want to after this read.

[Kerstin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know but for some reason I just couldn't connect with this book. It always felt kinda fake and superficial to me. I really admire Grace and her career - she's such a fierce and fun woman but this book just didn't do her justice. Maybe it's because I'm obviously not in her target audience but this book was a huge disappointment for me. Soz Grace!

[Jazmyn Mitchell]

I want to read this book so badly!!! I'm a huge fan of Grace Helbig!!! :)

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked it. I laughed out loud in several occasions- but the language was a little much.

[Lucie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book, I liked the little anecdotes about grace's life and I could see how some of her tips could actually be helpful.

[Cris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for something funny and I didn’t find it. I didn’t know who she was, but that didn’t matter as I don’t watch videos much or tv…I read! I love comedy though, so I was hoping for some laughs. Instead it was odd…like she had to look up to find out she’s a millennial. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. Not even a millennial!

[Allia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, light read. I’ve followed Grace for years, so reading this in 2025 felt nostalgic (which may have influenced my rating). Her humour shines through, and I loved the creative acronyms used to wrap up each chapter!