''Selp-Helf'' is a book by

Colleen Ballinger Colleen Mae Ballinger (born November 21, 1986) is an American comedian, YouTuber, actress, singer and writer. She is best known for her Internet character Miranda Sings, posting videos of the character on YouTube, performing her one-woman com ...

and her brother Christopher Ballinger, released July 21, 2015 by

Gallery Books Gallery Publishing Group is a general interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster which houses the imprints Gallery Books, Pocket Books, Scout Press, Gallery 13, and Saga Press. Jen Bergstrom is the Senior Vice President and Publisher. ...

, an imprint of

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pub ...

. It is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its su ...

of the

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subst ...

book genre. Simon & Schuster calls it a "decidedly unhelpful, candid, hilarious 'how-to' guide". The book is written in the voice of Colleen Ballinger's YouTube character

Miranda Sings Miranda may refer to: Law * '' Miranda v. Arizona'', an American legal case * ''Miranda'' warning, an American police warning given to suspects about their rights, before they are interrogated Places Australia * Miranda, New South Wales * Miran ...

and presented in mock-scrapbook format, with silly advice, photos and comically bad artwork. The book debuted at No. 1 on the ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' Hardcover Non-Fiction best sellers list"''Publishers Weekly'' Best-Sellers"
Associated Press, July 30, 2015 and ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous, and at No. 6 on ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

's'' Best-Selling Books list. It remained on the ''Times'' Best Seller list for Advice & Misc. for 11 weeks and was on their monthly Best Seller list for "Humor" for eleven months. Andrea Beach of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave the book a rating of three out of five stars, stating, in part, "Fans of her Miranda Sings YouTube channel will love this colorfully absurd satire of the self-help industry. ...Older teens can be encouraged to think about how Colleen Ballinger ... uses satire, irony, and exaggeration and how those techniques affect the real message conveyed." The site goes on to state, "The book may seem ridiculous at first glance, but mature, media-savvy teens can absorb positive messages about the absurdity of how self-help and self-esteem videos make things look so easy ... and find a sense of community in realizing they're not the only ones who recognize social media's often-unrealistic expectations."

References

{{reflist 2015 books American books Books by YouTubers Gallery Books books Debut books Parody books Satirical self-help books