I wish I had liked this book more than I did. While I loved getting to see more of Yvie Oddly, one of my favourite queens from all the Drag Race franchises, I couldn’t get over how this book was formatted. The interview-style with explanatory paragraphs from the other writer, Michael Bach, left me feeling disconnected from the memoir at best. There was a lot of repetition, largely from Bach’s explanations of Yvie’s experiences, which made the reading experience feel impersonal and just… awkward.

That being said, I loved the unfiltered version Yvie offered up, and the different pieces of their story they were able to tell in this new format. I’m certain it felt like a relief to put this out in the world.

An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book by Michael Bach about Drag Race and also partially Yvie Oddly. His super fandom and obsession makes it too… stan… to be really about Yvie imo.

I think it needs a bit of tightening up - refocus on Yvie, have more from Yvie, less from Michael. It's 80% Michael yasssss'ing over Yvie, 20% Yvie being quoted in what was presumably one or two long-form interviews where they sound like...very unhappy.

From #netgalley

Thank you Netgalley for the arc of this upcoming title!

All hail queen Yvie! As a long time fan of RPDR, there are some beloved queens and some not so. However, id love a book on them all.

One thing I adore about Yvie is their message and their self expression. I’d rather be Oddly than normal lol

Book #475
4 ⭐️
ARC REVIEW: June 19 2024

An autobiography from @oddlyyvie & Michael.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC when i went on netgalley and saw a book about yvie oddly i had to read it. Loving Yvie on drag race as an artist a person was great to watch so also reading a book about them to learn more about the person of the show i felt i wanted to do as well. Yvie is such a great versatile artist and has such a unique style of drag and me being a lover of unique drag made me love them even more and respect them as an artist! I loved the beautiful fan artwork in this novel honestly such talented people drawing images from looks of Yvies. One of my other favorite things of this book was the boundaries that yvie was speaking about regarding the fans etc because it needed to be said! It was nice to see other ru girls say things about yvie in this novel as well and also the chapter regarding the season when they give u a little run down on what was happening each episode / how yvie was feeling during filming etc it was a very nice quick read and it was nice to learn more about yvie and how yvie grew up etc. I really enjoy autobiographies especially when its someone you think is super cool. Was rooting for yvie since episode 1 on season 11 and them winning was such a great thing! Still think about that iconic jellyfish look to this day! I love that yvie also spoke about family , friends , denver etc and was very open up the ups and down about just life in general thank you for being open and sharing a nice book with people who respect you as an artist and being a great person! Cant wait to see what else you do in the future!

PS: this cover is AMAZING.

We love you yvie 🥹

“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.

I absolutely loved this. As soon as I started reading I could hear the words in Yvie's voice, it came across as unapologetically Yvie and I loved that. I felt really let in to their world and upbringing which felt so genuine. I also love the cover and think it would be great for a coffee table book.

A quick and fun read to learn more about a loved queen.

As a Canadian, I had to be a little upset when Yvie won out over Canadian Brooke Lynn, but of course, Yvie was great. I have since seen her perform as well and she was just as fun and talented to watch in real life.

I 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.