Sometimes it's ok to BINGE [Tyler Oakley - BINGE Review]

Hi, my name is Mif, I’m a YouTube-aholic, and it’s been about 4 seconds since I last watched a video on the internet. (Hi Mif). Being a hard-core addict, it’s been impossible to ignore YouTuber Tyler Oakley. [For those of you (mum, are you reading this?) who don’t know who Tyler Oakley is, or even what a YouTuber is, keep an eye out for my companion piece: Yes Mum, a YouTuber IS a Real Job, where I hope to explain some things.] Tyler’s all over the internet, social media and is the proud author of his book, Binge.  Needless to say, I got extremely curious about it and, given I can’t deny myself a new book, I recently picked up a copy as an early Christmas present for myself and was immediately taken with this wildly addictive book. I must confess that before Binge, I had never read any form of autobiography, but with its wickedly funny stories, jokes to keep me snickering the whole way through and hilarious photos of a young Tyler Oakley, Binge had me hooked.

The book starts off by saying ‘For my people,’ and that’s exactly who Tyler wrote this autobiography for. He opens up and tells his readers all of his darkest, most personal stories and secrets and all of the difficult times that he got through. The last thing that I expected from this cheery, smiling YouTuber were his stories of his depression, and nearly giving up. Though I guess that’s what makes this book so inspiring. It proves that no matter where you are in life, or how bad things are getting, you can always get better.

Tyler is only 26 years old, but in this time he has gathered his experiences and created a collection of essays about his life, which range from hilarious to heartbreaking. One moment you’re cracking up laughing with his stories of his literal rage black-out at the Cheesecake Factory, projectile vomiting whilst arguing with his grandma and crashing his car in front of his whole high-school, and the next, you’re holding back tears as Tyler tells the heart wrenching stories of his love life. The book consists of chapters like ‘Beyoncé for the Day’ and ‘What Michelle Obama Smells Like’ to ‘Disney Princes’ and ‘Thtory of My Life.’ (No, this is not a typo.) Tyler’s stories are written in the same way that he talks, and you can practically hear his voice telling the stories to you - unless you listen to the audiobook, in which case, you can literally hear his voice telling the stories to you.  

To set the ledger straight, I’m 14 years old. As a 14 year old, I’ve enjoyed this book A LOT, but for other 14s ready to BINGE, get ready for some (and I’m quoting the adults now) language, drug use and sexual references. BINGE is unlike any book I’ve ever read before, and whether you’re a YouTube-aholic like me or not, you should go out and pick up a copy, because sometimes it’s ok to BINGE.