You Only Live Once, by Jess Vallance

I loved this book! It was just what I needed to get out of my reading slump. Seriously funny, the exciting beginnings of a cute F/F romance that feels like any other teen YA romance, a likable protagonist with Lessons to Learn that does a bunch of dumb things and becomes a better person.

Gracie Dart is one of the best characters I have encountered in YA for ages. She was a model student at a bit of a crossroads in her life. She had always assumed she'd ace her A Levels, go to one of the good Unis and do something like Business, intern in London, get a good job and charge around with a coffee cup and go for loud After Work Drinks on Fridays. Her best friend Till wants to be a plumber based on an eyewateringly impressive emergency plumber bill she once had to pay. They are really different as characters, but it's a friendship that works and I loved how in sync the two were.

After a dramatic near death experience, Gracie decides that her summer of revision, highlighting and cramming was a waste of precious life and resolves to be less boring, less predictable and less afraid. She is going to Say Yes to stuff, Live A Life and Have Experiences. Because YOLO. Also, she can put it all on Instagram. Because, as the kids day, Pics or it Didn't Happen.

The book is basically about the lessons that Gracie has to learn about loyalty, responsibility, real life vs instagram, balancing friends, being decent to family and just being honest about how you feel and what you want. Just general life balance. Stuff that's still hard in your 30s and that you probably never really learn entirely tbh.

Highlights included: Nan in Paris. Amazing. Hilarious. A real example of the true Gracie just doing something nice for someone else and finding it a meaningful experience.
The excruciating gig and subsequent cute.
Gracie's flustered and unnecessary Coming Out to her super supportive and already onboard with G being gay parents.
Gracie's first proper talk with her brother in ages. It's not so much that it's funny, just really a really sweet moment.

The cover says it's for fans of Geek Girl, which is a sensible play, but YOLO feels much more modern and savvy than Geek Girl, and Gracie is a much more relatable character, in my old lady opinion. I think more readers will relate to feeling frustrated with your own perceived lameness and striving to be more interesting and more outgoing than accidentally becoming a model.

Loved it. Will definitely be on the lookout for the next one. Also, if you don't follow Jess Vallance on Twitter and Instagram, you are missing out on additional hilarity. Although if this book teaches us anything, it's that that is not a 100% accurate reflection of a person's life.