Review Detail

YOU: THE STORY is a highly engaging and entertaining nonfiction read about writing. Part memoir and part guidebook, Sepetys walks the reader through the elements of creating a story worth reading with elements of plots, characters, dialogue, conflict, and more. To explain each of these elements, Sepetys draws from stories in their own life, giving colorful examples of the ways your own experiences can inform your writing and story-building.

What I loved: Although I am not a writer myself, I found this book to be incredibly entertaining and intriguing. The memoir-like insertions in each section really drew me in, and I am now endlessly fascinated by Sepetys's life - they have so many stories to tell! The point of it is really about how you can use your personal experiences to craft a story, but I think it also points out how our experiences inform us as readers as well. As a reviewer, I found this to be really educational about all the things that go into writing and the elements of what makes a story that a reader could consider "good" - and why. For instance, the difference between showing and telling when it comes to character development, and the way that specific information about characters can really allow the reader to connect with them on another level.

The conversational tone and inclusion of guiding questions and examples make this very informative, and I found it to be an educational experience. As a non-writer, I was not sure how much I would get into this book, but I absolutely devoured it! The memoir-style writing throughout transformed this into something other than just a simple how-to guide and made it a read that anyone can enjoy. One of my favorite stories was of the way Sepetys redecorated their room as a teen (I won't give more details to avoid spoilers)- I was laughing out loud for that one and found it quite relatable, but there were so many engaging vignettes throughout!

Final verdict: YOU: THE STORY is a highly engaging and informative nonfiction book about writing that made me laugh, sigh, and cry out with the memoir-style elements, truly making this a read that will entertain writers and non-writers alike!