Ich werde YouTube Star – Book Review

Hallo, Deutschlerner. I have seen a few times that this book   shows up next to mine   when people are shopping for German learning books on Amazon   . So I bought it and read it. Now I’m going to tell you whether or not “Ich werde YouTube Star” by Florian Buschendorff   is worth your money and if it is, who should buy it. 

Overview of the Story

As the name implies, this story is about someone who wants to become a YouTube star. Good luck, kid. It’s more work than you think. The story is set in a school full of teenagers. One of the kids is a cute girl who runs a YouTube channel. The boys in the story are trying to get her attention by making YouTube videos. They eventually make videos together and friendships are put to the test through their antics. 

Review of the Story

Is it the best story I have ever read? No. Is it decent considering it was written with German learners in mind? Sure. I still prefer the works of Angelika Bohn   or Andre Klein   , but this is decent. 

The Good

What this story does well is capture the speech patterns and phrasing of young German people. There are slang words and school aged kid vocabulary that can be helpful for anyone in that demographic or anyone who wants to be able to understand that demographic. Since it is set in a school, there is plenty of school related vocabulary, which is great for expanding your German knowledge. 

The Bad

What this story does poorly is make me care about any of the characters. I dislike every character in the story. I think they are all shallow, uncharismatic people with no redeeming qualities. I don’t know if it was the author’s intent to make me hate them or if he actually thinks that all young people are this archetype. I just found it grating. 

As a person who works with this generation day after day, it is supremely irritating to read a book in which they are portrayed as having no class. There are obviously people without class in this generation, but I think that is true of any generation. I’m technically a millennial. Not all of us are the stereotype we are portrayed as. The entire generational war is just another way to divide people and pit them against one another so we don’t organize and overthrow the power structure. Enough of that tangent, but you get where I’m coming from. 

Final Decision & Rating

So, would I recommend this book   for German learners? Actually, yes. It may not be my favorite German learning book, the things you can learn from it are important enough, I think you can make it through the terrible personalities in the book. I give it 3 out of 5 bow ties. 

More Book Reviews by Herr Antrim

Fantastic Books for German Learners
Immer wieder Sascha by Angelika Bohn
Foto ohne Namen by Angelika Bohn
der silberne Kugelschreiber by Angelika Bohn
German Book Vocabulary & What’s on Herr Antrim’s Bookshelf
Nachbar Nr. 5 by Angelika Bohn Sample Reading featuring Sophia Antrim

For more book recommendations from Herr Antrim, check out his Amazon Storefront.

*Amazon links are affiliate links for which Herr Antrim receives a small commission on any sales made from those links. This does not cost you extra, it simply helps support Herr Antrim.