Nonfiction

The Odd 1s Out: How to Be Cool and Other Things I Definitely Learned from Growing Up

The Odd 1s Out: How to Be Cool and Other Things I Definitely Learned from Growing Up

  • Downloads：6021
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-22 21:50:54
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：James Rallison
  • ISBN：014313180X
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Hilarious stories and advice about the ups and downs of growing up， from a popularYouTube artist and storyteller。

Like any shy teen turned young adult， YouTube star James Rallison （"The Odd 1s Out"） is used to being on the outside looking in。 He wasn't partying in high school or winning football games like his older brother。 Instead， he posted comics on the Internet。 Now， he's ready to share his hard-earned advice from his 21 years of life in the funny， relatable voice his fans love。

In this illustrated collection， Rallison tells his own stories of growing up as the "odd one out": in art class with his twin sister （she was more talented）， in the middle school locker room， and up to one strange year of college （he dropped out）。 Each story is filled with the little lessons he picked up along the way， serious and otherwise， like:

* How to be cool （in seventh grade）
* Why it's OK to be second-best at something， and
* How to survive your first， confidence-killing job interviews

Filled with fan-favorite comics and never-before-seen material， this tongue-in-cheek take on some of the weirdest， funniest parts of life is perfect for both avid followers and new converts。

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Reviews

Paulo Roto ，

De best

Harry Potter ，

I read this in a day and is an excellent book in my opinion 🥰

Thomas ，

Taught me a few things and it was hilarious。 YouTubers make great authors。 （:

Arhaan Shaikh ，

Very good and amazing。 Some were described better than In his youtube channel。

Devlin Giddings ，

This book was a fun， quick read。 If you're familiar with the author's YouTube channel， you'll enjoy this book。 If you aren't， you may enjoy his musings anyway。 There isn't much to say; if you want a fun pick-me-up， check it out。 This book was a fun， quick read。 If you're familiar with the author's YouTube channel， you'll enjoy this book。 If you aren't， you may enjoy his musings anyway。 There isn't much to say; if you want a fun pick-me-up， check it out。 。。。more

Kelly Scriven ，

As a woman in her late 30s， I am NOT the target demo of this book。 My 14 year old son handed it to me and said "You HAVE to read this！" So of course， I did。 There is no higher praise for a book。It's fun。 It's got clean humor， an eye-catching art style， and is super on brand for his YouTube channel。 I had fun。 I laughed， I shared a few stories with the rest of the family。 I wish he hadn't made comments about the "special needs kid in PE，" that's the one thing that totally fell flat for me since o As a woman in her late 30s， I am NOT the target demo of this book。 My 14 year old son handed it to me and said "You HAVE to read this！" So of course， I did。 There is no higher praise for a book。It's fun。 It's got clean humor， an eye-catching art style， and is super on brand for his YouTube channel。 I had fun。 I laughed， I shared a few stories with the rest of the family。 I wish he hadn't made comments about the "special needs kid in PE，" that's the one thing that totally fell flat for me since one of my kids IS that kid。 But overall。。。 Definitely recommend for teens and tweens。 。。。more

infires man ，

Ratings: 4。36 | wear your seatbelt。FIRSTLY some LiNeS:everyday life with sibling be like:please answer this T-Tquack"Sometimes you need to fail in life。""until the day one of us dies。 （Hopefully， he’s first。）" lel"And remember， whatever you do in life， wear your seatbelt。"well there are more。 Overall， it was a fun read！ i watch him on youtube too sometimes xD: TheOdd1sOut Ratings: 4。36 | wear your seatbelt。FIRSTLY some LiNeS:everyday life with sibling be like:please answer this T-Tquack"Sometimes you need to fail in life。""until the day one of us dies。 （Hopefully， he’s first。）" lel"And remember， whatever you do in life， wear your seatbelt。"well there are more。 Overall， it was a fun read！ i watch him on youtube too sometimes xD: TheOdd1sOut 。。。more

Jessica Peterson ，

Laugh out loud， tears streaming down my face funny！ I'm buying this book as a gift for my siblings who love his YouTube channel！ Laugh out loud， tears streaming down my face funny！ I'm buying this book as a gift for my siblings who love his YouTube channel！ 。。。more

ishan Chatterjee ，

A Great Book。 Must read for everybody adolescent or above。 I loved this book because it was a book about James's life and it was really fun to read。 This book told you funny and uumorous things in his life along with some other serious things that help you in yours。 A Great Book。 Must read for everybody adolescent or above。 I loved this book because it was a book about James's life and it was really fun to read。 This book told you funny and uumorous things in his life along with some other serious things that help you in yours。 。。。more

Panda Incognito ，

I really enjoyed this。 I'm not familiar with the author's YouTube channel， but the slice-of-life humor and weird anecdotes from his childhood were right down my alley。 I laughed out loud multiple times。 I really enjoyed this。 I'm not familiar with the author's YouTube channel， but the slice-of-life humor and weird anecdotes from his childhood were right down my alley。 I laughed out loud multiple times。 。。。more

Carson Gentry ，

James Rallison is a pro at being the Odd 1 Out。 He wasn’t the typical partying football playing teen， but instead he embraced individuality。 He blazed his own trail with hilarious comics and youtube videos that proves that being “weird” isn’t a bad thing。 This is one of the only books that I have read in one sitting。 James Rallison kept me interested and laughing through the whole book。 I feel like this is a perfect example of finding your own way and embracing your quirks。

April ，

Unread shelf project 2021: book 15。

昊 孙 ，

The 1st book it's more like a collection of unused scirpts。 The 1st book it's more like a collection of unused scirpts。 。。。more

reenie ，

Ah， another YouTuber book。 I only started watching the Odd 1s Out around the start of quarantine last year， and I didn't even realize he had written books until October-ish。 I read this book in an hour or so， but it was an enjoyable read， carrying James's signature humor and "pale， bald figures"。 I admire his ability to turn ordinary events into engaging stories。 It was a quick read that fans of James will definitely enjoy。Happy Friday！ I hope your day is going well。 And if it isn't， I hope that Ah， another YouTuber book。 I only started watching the Odd 1s Out around the start of quarantine last year， and I didn't even realize he had written books until October-ish。 I read this book in an hour or so， but it was an enjoyable read， carrying James's signature humor and "pale， bald figures"。 I admire his ability to turn ordinary events into engaging stories。 It was a quick read that fans of James will definitely enjoy。Happy Friday！ I hope your day is going well。 And if it isn't， I hope that tomorrow or sometime soon， it gets better。 Because I promise that it will get better。 Maybe not today or tomorrow， but one day soon。 There's a light at the end of the tunnel， and you have to keep going until you exit the tunnel。 Life gets rough， but we always find peace in then end。Do things that make you happy， and above else， amor omnia vincent。 Treat people with kindness， but don't forget to be kind to yourself as well。with love forever，Reenie💋 。。。more

Jenna ，

Funny， enough？ I don’t known if I wasn’t in the right mood， but a lot of the humor didn’t click with me。 That might be because I kept comparing it to similar comics， like Hyperbole and a Half， the Oatmeal， etc。 But there were entertaining scenes and the very simple drawings were emotive and dramatic。 Maybe it was the writing。。

Emma Edwards ，

I thought it was a lovely book。 In usual YouTube first book fashion， if you have watched all his videos， you have pretty much already read the book。 But the stories were fun and I would recommend this for any odd 1s out fan。 I will definitely be getting the 2nd one。 Xx

Kevin Chen ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Like all autobiographies I reviewed on goodreads， this one is well paced。 What I like particularly about this autobiography is that it goes into the same wacky random ramblings that you would expect in James Rallison's videos on YouTube。 It is also not flooded with words like you would expect in other novels but rather concise in its words and filled with the same funny pictures as one would see in his videos。 The problem is that there are too many goofy pictures that for me， would have to part Like all autobiographies I reviewed on goodreads， this one is well paced。 What I like particularly about this autobiography is that it goes into the same wacky random ramblings that you would expect in James Rallison's videos on YouTube。 It is also not flooded with words like you would expect in other novels but rather concise in its words and filled with the same funny pictures as one would see in his videos。 The problem is that there are too many goofy pictures that for me， would have to part with because I am only reading it on loan from a library。 In this day and age of memedom， I would keep any goofy picture that I can get my hands on。 But I am disappointed that he forged some of his famous childhood drawings/comics。 I know he would have to in order for us to get an idea of what he is talking about。 And I am amazed at how he managed to remember them in order to forge them。 I wouldn't remember the exact details of what I drew in my childhood。 Coming from my perspective， I only watched a handful of Rallison's videos （his videos advertising his books to begin with） and therefore， do not have an impression of him being shy or to have had a shy past。 It's how outspoken he is in his videos with a loud enthusiastic voice that made me unaware of any potential shyness。 I prefer brewstew because of his stories are for an older audience。 Also; because I only watched a handful of Rallison's videos， I wouldn't know if a bunch of the goofy photos in this book were already used in his videos that addressed similar topics。 I find all his stories relatable as with any wacky out of control kid。 He and his brother wasted a big bag of skittles by binge eating and puking it out- everyone at one point in their lives wasted food that way。 Or the ordeal with Luke making a hole in the wall。 We were all wild and whether through carelessness or shear anger would do something like that。 His stories were funny and entertaining。 It draws some reminder of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series but the pacing of Rallison's story telling helps keep me entertained rather than with say Greg Heffley who is someone I feel sorry for; instead of the feeling of entertainment， with the emphasis on his bad luck。 Rallison bypasses the times where his parents would scold him such as the hole in the wall incident。 I disagree with the idea of the priority in middle school （or any stage in one's schooling） being 'coming out as cool' but it depends on perspective。 My tip would just be to join student counsel to be popular。 For me， it was just making your way through life in grade seven （after getting a fresh start from elementary school） and grade eight， I was more obsessed with getting attention which is different from popularity。 His moth incident was unique to me。 I hate bugs in the house and would feel the frustration of a moth just wanting to come in。 But remembering myself as a kid， I don't think I would ever want to keep one in a jar and keep it as a pet。 It's just weird。 Also， the section just randomly mentioned him being nicknamed cricket without further going into detail on that aspect。 I just felt like he left me hanging on that; and I don't know if that story later on about him pet sitting his friend's frog and accidentally letting crickets escape was in any way related。 That story however reminded me of an Arthur episode with the ants escaping。 Rallison was however， smart to vacuum them up。 His introduction to high school to his life in high school was also relatable because I myself went to a high school with uniforms and wearing nearly the same thing for four years was uncomfortable。 I really liked the sympathy rub story because the middle school teacher was oblivious to the fact that James and Faith were twins despite the fact that she herself acknowledged how much they look alike。 And she ended up discovering the truth to put her in her place。 Although in my high school， the staff didn't care about students and their PDA （at least on the level of holding hands which the middle school teacher assumed was the case） because high schoolers; to the staff， were old enough to consent。 Even though this section of the book wasn't clickbait， it was still a bit exaggerated as I was expecting a making out scene in a closet where both of them were oblivious to each other's identities kind of like this halloween Family Guy episode with Chris and Meg。 For the PE story， I sympathize with his opinion of changing in a locker room in high school。 In my freshman PE class， we did swimming for two weeks and unfortunately， I accidentally saw too much this one time in the changeroom。 That aside， his college incident was mild and indeed a bit overexaggerated because even in an elementary school camping trip， I thought butts wasn't that obscene。 As for flicking bottle caps， I found it gross that they would pick something from the trash。 My PE classmates were better off making flame throwers with spraying axe body spray on a lighter。 The bodies game resulting 'Houdini' getting knocked out reminded me of someone in the other PE class of my freshman year who broke his wrist playing dodgeball and needing surgery being in a cast for the next semester。 Also， him being a grade above everyone else in his PE class is relatable to me in my undergrad where I would be playing catch up with a lecture/tutorial of younger peers because I took a light course load in my first year followed with years of failing classes and dropping classes until I finally graduated。 I couldn't relate to the laser tag story because I never played in my life and was unfamiliar with the rules whenever he brought up the rules being broken。 Without delving into the realm of social justice warrior， I agree with his slight disclaimer that being hit by 'a girl' is a bit sexist （and only meant for fun at the time） and would think something like 'a baby' would be more suitable。 After all， it can't be disputed that babies are inferior beings and it would be humiliating to lose to them。Onto the science fair， I was in the 58% that never had to do one。 Therefore， I never saw the concept as being compulsory whenever I saw it on TV shows。 I thought that it was always extracurricular。 Of course， that's not to say we never did any science projects in general that required just as a heavy amount of research。 There was the brief story about him only listing two ways that Hopi Indians dry farm their fields which is also relatable regarding the times I only listed two things for homework。 I also completely agree with Rallison's brief ramble about Shakespeare。 While math is hard （as with anything in my brutally difficult high school）， the hardest one thing; if one were to complain about one thing only， is English class where they make you memorize Shakespeare verses and write essays。 I also agree with his slight remark about teachers imposing things that are beyond a kid's cognitive ability。 Him addressing the worm splitting in half myth was educational。 He also shed some perspective about living in the desert state when it comes to the lack of soil and inability to grow crops; something I've taken for granted when I'm not planting trees to assert a moral high ground over millennials who only pretend to care about the environment。 I was glad nothing went wrong when he drove with one hand while making sure the worms didn't escape from the bowl; although with the good pacing of the book he would have only briefly went over the bad consequences anyways。 He states that this is where the wear your seatbelts line at the end of his videos came from but I am not familiar enough with his videos to notice that trend。For the dog story， I really respect the Rallison family for being able to raise five kids and two dogs。 The improv thing wasn't clear enough to me as I didn't know James was with a team of improvers until he mentioned that he shouldn't mention 'not letting the police in' in front of a crowd。 For the halloween thing， I can't relate because Christians don't celebrate halloween。 Even my earliest memories of going trick or treating （before our family converted to Christianity） weren't memorable。 His haunted house story did remind me of one house me and my sister went to where the guy offered us to go inside for even more candy but I didn't know whether my mother would be okay with it and we declined not knowing we would've been allowed。 I relate to James growing wise to being scared of things like when I was a kid and knew that any hooting in a TV show were obviously owls and that the only thing to really startle me were jump scares （and nowadays maybe the idea of free falling like revisiting my skydiving or bungee jumping）。 I laughed at that reference to twilight when he said "hope no one turns that into a book"。 I do not like the Balake ordeal considering it was his own brother he did it to。 Granted， he would've gotten in trouble if it was a stranger。 When it came to the school fundraisers in general， I remember a dunk tank during a fair for my high school。 Granted it wasn't as satisfying because the one teacher in the tank when it was my turn to throw balls was a teacher I didn't have a grudge against。 Also， the teachers just climb back on the dunk board after they fall dripping wet so it's not like them falling in water after the first time feels that satisfying at all。 Props to him for getting Mario bros reference right by referring to himself as Luigi who is indeed the younger one。 It does make me wish I was the younger sibling because in my immigrant family， we could have my older sibling be the guinea pig for my parents' first attempt to raise a kid in a first world country and I can learn from any failures that my older sibling experienced。 I also appreciate the tips for a job interview because most of us are not fortunate like Rallison to become so successful on YouTube。 I am relieved that others also experienced embarrassing/awkward things in vain such as his experience applying to Coldstone。 His stories of his tutoring interview using Calculus （especially that Fencing optimization problem） gave me PTSD from my high school where I could never get an A+ because of the school's hard difficulty （but in university， where I got A- in first year Calculus courses， it felt equivalent to an A+ in high school。 I don't see any problem with keeping the closet door closed （keeping the motive of being scared of monsters aside）。 The way my house is designed （and I presume for a lot of houses）， keeping it open means you're disorganized; like keeping all your drawers and cupboards open。 I also like learning that Youtubers do enjoy watching other Youtubers; Captainsparklez is a good example to hear because I enjoyed his Viva La Vida parody with Minecraft。 And yes， there is nothing wrong with watching gamers play games you yourself don't play anymore。 Sometimes its less stressful while still enjoying the games' fun it has to offer。 If there is one thing to complain about the pacing is that he doesn't introduce the fact that he is in among five siblings。 Even if he did briefly mention it in the beginning， it would have been easier to remember if he had a brief story for each of the siblings because I am what the book summary describes as a 'convert' and do not already know that much about Rallison。 Overall， an enjoyable read with the wacky adventures of his story telling rambles on Youtube mixed in with a serious tone of life lessons that he gives us。 。。。more

Christine ，

Fun， quick read。

Barbara Larson ，

Light goofy fun read。

Maria LeBerre ，

I might not be the target audience for this book （too old。。。。）， but I appreciated it。 The Odd Ones are too often on the fringes when they're young， but they are usually more interesting， and while this book isn't the first to say "it gets better，" it gets that across with a light touch。 It's an easy read with a worthwhile message。 I might not be the target audience for this book （too old。。。。）， but I appreciated it。 The Odd Ones are too often on the fringes when they're young， but they are usually more interesting， and while this book isn't the first to say "it gets better，" it gets that across with a light touch。 It's an easy read with a worthwhile message。 。。。more

Cara Copeland ，

Best book ever

Nostalgia Reader ，

2。5 stars。James's humor comes across best on screen watching his videos and animations， so I found trying to read the stories in James's voice really helped to get a bit more out of them。 As they are， they were amusing anecdotes and stories to dive into during brief lunch breaks or down time at work， but still no match for watching the videos。 2。5 stars。James's humor comes across best on screen watching his videos and animations， so I found trying to read the stories in James's voice really helped to get a bit more out of them。 As they are， they were amusing anecdotes and stories to dive into during brief lunch breaks or down time at work， but still no match for watching the videos。 。。。more

Soren Wheeler ，

So funny！ The only thing that I don't like about this book is that some of the chapters had the same lines as his videos do。 So funny！ The only thing that I don't like about this book is that some of the chapters had the same lines as his videos do。 。。。more

Liam ，

Best animating youtouber ever

Grace Morton ，

I really enjoy watching theodds1sout youtube channel。 And when I found out that James had came out with a book， i knew i needed to get it！ From funny jokes to cool and cool dventures and experiences it was really hard to put it down！ So James， you are not only a great anomator and youtuber， you also are a good writer！ 💙😎

John Nondorf ，

My son watches tons of YouTubers I can't stand， but the Odd1sOut is one of the good ones who draws me in （no pun intended， but I'll take it） with his legit funny stories and reminiscences。 I believe the book is all stories he's told on his YouTube channel， but reading them is still enjoyable。 And if you can get your kids to read them instead of sitting in front of a screen listening to them， even better！ My son watches tons of YouTubers I can't stand， but the Odd1sOut is one of the good ones who draws me in （no pun intended， but I'll take it） with his legit funny stories and reminiscences。 I believe the book is all stories he's told on his YouTube channel， but reading them is still enjoyable。 And if you can get your kids to read them instead of sitting in front of a screen listening to them， even better！ 。。。more

Michelle ，

I’ve been watching James’ videos for a while now and bought this book a while ago but for some reason never read it until now。 The book is short so you can finish it pretty fast， but it’s a fun book。 If you like James’ videos you’ll probably like this book as well， I don’t know what else I can say about this book。

Naida Potata ，

NiceYour sooooooooooo stupid （you said don't listen to the haters so don't listen to me 。_。）Good luck newbie ha ha NiceYour sooooooooooo stupid （you said don't listen to the haters so don't listen to me 。_。）Good luck newbie ha ha 。。。more

Aaryan Wanjari ，

Was a much better book than I initially thought。

Nathan ，

Not as good as I thought it would be。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Odd 1s Out: How to Be Cool and Other Things I Definitely Learned from Growing Up

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Odd 1s Out: How to Be Cool and Other Things I Definitely Learned from Growing Up&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Odd 1s Out: How to Be Cool and Other Things I Definitely Learned from Growing Up&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0