I cannot describe to you in words the excitement I had when I learned that Carrie Hope Fletcher was writing a book. It's freaking Carrie, like, oh my gosh, Carrie Hope Fletcher! Fellow fangirls will of course know what my feelings, thoughts and emotions were like whilst waiting for this book. I was so pleased to go and pick it up over the weekend, and I'm so excited that I can now tell you what I thought of it!
Carrie has run, for a while now, a blog called All I Know Now, and regularly receives messages in her Tumblr inbox asking her about the various different aspects and elements of teenage life, and how to navigate them. She is viewed as a big sister by many of her fans, and indeed sometimes even by myself, so she wanted to bring it all together into a book. That is essentially my grasp of why All I Know Now exists.
The book combines her (completely unprofessional but still invaluable) advice, on issues like identifying who you are, getting out of the friendzone, navigating the deep dark depths of the internet and bullying, alongside a whole heap of different issues.
And it's just absolutely beautiful.
I found myself, as I'm reading it, thinking about how unprofessional Carrie claims her advice is and how invaluable it genuinely is! Carrie loans a piece of her mind and a piece of heart with every bit of advice she offers, talking about her incredibly personal stories that she has, and her witty anecdotes compliment the story in a way I don't find with some other books.
And then don't even get me started on the illustrations. As well as writing the book, Carrie also completed all the illustrations, which compliment the book and add a flavour to it that I don't think I've picked up on in many books before.
Do I have any negatives? Kind of. I felt as though this book maybe wasn't for me. I understand fully, and have understood for a long time, that this book is not aimed at teenage boys, it's aimed at teenage girls. The advice given can still be applied to boys, and Carrie herself acknowledges that this book is probably better for girls (she doesn't say it outright, but does imply it at several points in the book). I don't think this is anything to criticise about the book though, rather, I see it as something that will hopefully pre-warn readers that the book is for girls, but totally go read it anyway!
I may be a complete fangirl, blinded by their obsession for Carrie and what she does, but I hope that everyone who reads this book isn't clouded with their obsession and can read the book for what it truly is: a friend. I don't think I was clouded, and I want everyone else to see the book the same way. Carrie connects with you directly in this book, her advice is so genuine and so passionate that you can almost hear her articulating every syllable, it's genius. It's just so fantastic, and I don't think my words can articulate it either.
Just thank you Carrie, for providing me with a friend in the form of pages and ink.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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