Username: Evie ~ Joe Sugg

Like anyone who feels they don't fit in, Evie dreams of a safe place. When times are tough, all she wants is a chance to escape from reality and be herself. Unknown to Evie, her loving father has been working tirelessly to create a virtual world where she can get away, and life as she knows it is about to change forever. Could this be the perfect world Evie has longed for, or does her hardest journey still lie ahead?

Book Review:

I'm not one who normally reads graphic novels. That may be because I was never really exposed to them growing up, my school library had very few and those that they did have never particularly appealed to me. I have read or skimmed through a few in my passings and goings but usually the books I pick up are big, thick, and have no pictures. Username: Evie appealed to me for a couple of reasons; (1) Joe Sugg is the author and I completely adore him and (2) the premise seemed really interesting. I have been that girl who feels like the outcast in my surroundings and who avidly sought out an escape. Even as a Senior in high school, I still am sometimes this girl. 

I had no real expectations going into this story and I think that that mindset really helped me enjoy it so much more. The illustrations were exquisite, and I felt that the colors used on each spread really set a tone for what was about to happen; I could grasp that feeling the second I turned the page. 33 pages in and Joe Sugg threw a "Feels Grenade" into my life. I felt so bad for Evie and so angry at Joe (I love you still though, Joe)!! 

I guess that the rest of the book wasn't something that I really expected. I had kind of expected E.scape to be different somehow. It was still just as empowering for Evie though as what I had envisioned and that really was the point. 

Pages: 182                                                                                  Rate: 5/5

Book Discussion: SPOILERS:

So lets talk about that "Feels Grenade" that I mentioned earlier. Really Joe?! You had to go off and off the dad?! Evie's only parent!? When I tuned to that spread of pages and saw his head hanging and read her talking about the comfort of his speedy typing that she couldn't hear anymore... It crushed me for a good day or so. 

Then we get to the world that he created just for her to escape from reality into, E.scape. I loved the video that he made her and how hearing his voice effected her. Unity was a really unique character as well. Oh, and the fact that people appeared to her as who she was thinking about, that was really interesting. I loved how the one turned into a nice version of the nasty jock from her school, Jaspar (that little nod to everyone's favorite YouTube bromance). It was even better when her E.scape father turned the other guy into who he was meant to be, a version of the sweet and nerdy guy from school, Lionel. 

The part where she jumps into her father's arms in E.scape crushed me. I am a huge Daddy's Girl and if anything were to happen to him, I would be lost. I could feel  the joy radiating off of her, a feeling that she never thought that she would experience again.