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Book Review: The Yearbook Committee by Sarah Ayoub

May 19, 2016

The Yearbook Committee by Sarah Ayoub

Pages: 304
Publish date: March 1st 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
ISBN: 0732296854
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Five teenagers. Five lives. One final year.

The school captain: Ryan has it all … or at least he did, until an accident snatched his dreams away. How will he rebuild his life and what does the future hold for him now?

The newcomer: Charlie’s just moved interstate and she’s determined not to fit in. She’s just biding her time until Year 12 is over and she can head back to her real life and her real friends …

The loner: At school, nobody really notices Matty. But at home, Matty is everything. He’s been single-handedly holding things together since his mum’s breakdown, and he’s never felt so alone.

The popular girl: Well, the popular girl’s best friend … cool by association. Tammi’s always bowed to peer pressure, but when the expectations become too much to handle, will she finally stand up for herself?

The politician’s daughter: Gillian’s dad is one of the most recognisable people in the state and she’s learning the hard way that life in the spotlight comes at a very heavy price.

Five unlikely teammates thrust together against their will. Can they find a way to make their final year a memorable one or will their differences tear their world apart?

The Yearbook Committee:

I’ve wanted to read a Sarah Ayoub book for quite a while now, I had seen Hate is Such a Strong Word so many times, but just never bought it. But when I interviewed Sarah Ayoub for my #LoveOZYA feature, I knew I had to read at least 1 of her books. So I picked up The Yearbook Committee and let me tell you, I loved it.

The Yearbook Committee follows five very different students as they come together to complete the yearbook for the end of year 12. This book is full of friendships, breakdowns, romance, family and everything else. It is such an intense book, that I could not put it down.

Ryan was quite interesting – he is the guy that everyone knows, but isn’t a dickhead. I enjoyed when we were reading about him. He has this standard for himself and when everything falls apart – he just doesn’t know how to deal with it.

Charlie has just moved to the school, and just does not want to be there. Charlie was intriguing and I was always looking forward to reading her chapter.

Matty, just broke my heart. I want to be his best friend and hug him all the time. He holds all this stuff in and I wanted to scream at him to do what is right for him. Matty has such a kind heart.

Tammi is someone who’s perception on things, is manipulated because of who she is friends with. The way that she reacts to things, the way that she talks is all because she wants to stay friends with the popular girl. The peer pressure that she feels is intense and sometimes frightening.

Then we have Gillian, she is the politician’s daughter and always in the spotlight, but it’s not easy to be there, especially if you want to be your own person.

All these characters and the friendships they build and break is quite interesting. they are so different from each other, yet so alike. The dynamic between them all was fascinating and intriguing.

This book can get relatively intense at times, but I enjoyed, it shows that life isn’t all rainbows especially in your last year of school.

I loved that this book had so many different types of relationships. From family to friendships to romance, it was all there. Some were strong and some did just not work. There were friendship fall outs and new friendships and I loved it. Basically The Yearbook Committee was real and raw.

We are able to see in The Yearbook Committee that teens are flawed too, and everything doesn’t work out to how you planned it to be. We witness insecurities, heartbreak and everything that comes along with your final year of school, and being a teen in general.

It deals with teens and stereotyping. How we should not be defined by that stereotype and we can be anyone that we want. We are not just some label. I love this because anyone can connect to this, they can see themselves or how they treated others and fix it.

I loved the compelling writing of Sarah Ayoub, it captivating and you are drawn in from the start, you connect to each character one of or another and you want to know their story, you want them to get through the year and go out into the world.

Overall, The Yearbook Committee is enchanting, you will be torn apart and put together over and over again. You will be taken on a ride with 5 students in their class year of high school – so be prepared.

Have you read The Yearbook Committee? Did you love it as much as I did? Are you going to read it or any other Sarah Ayoub books? Let’s Chat.

#LoveOzYA Interview: Kylie Fornasier

May 13, 2016

I love Aussie YA. I love reading books from authors that live in the same country as me, that know things that people out of Australia might be so confused about. I love how sometimes they can incorporate this into their book and it is fabulous.

So in saying that, I have decided to start a new feature on Angel Reads spotlighting Australian YA Authors. Each Friday for the next couple of months, I am going to interview an OZYA Author. I thought it would be a fun way to share my love for Australian Young Adult authors with not only fellow Aussies, but everyone around the world. I want more Australian YA books to be read, because they are amazing.

First week I interview Sarah Ayoub, then Fleur Ferris, followed by Will Kostakis, then Shivaun Plozza, and Gabrielle Tozer, And last week Jay Kristoff. This week we have Kylie Fornasier the young adult author of Masquerade (Penguin Teen, 2014) and The Things I Didn’t Say (Penguin Random House,2016).

Hi Kylie, welcome to Angel Reads. First can you introduce yourself to everyone? Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hey guys! Important things first: I love Pretty Little Liars and The 100, though I’m not up to the episode that has a lot of people angry at the show; I am currently obsessed with Peck’s cheddar flavoured rice biscuits, like I go through a pack every few days; and I’m not quite sure if I’m using punctuation currently here, that’s why I have an editor! I live in the Hawkesbury which is west-ish of Sydney. It’s definitely not the “country”, like some people think, though I do have four chickens.

Other things you should probably know about me is that I write books for children and young adults. In 2014, my young adult novel, Masquerade was published by Penguin Books Australia. It’s Gossip Girl meets Downton Abbey set in 18^th century Venice. And my newest YA book, The Things I Didn’t Say, is being published by Penguin Random House this May. It’s the love story of the girl who doesn’t speak and the boy everyone talks about.

What has your writing journey been like? When did you start? Why?

It’s been a bit like the Rainbow Road level in Mario Kart. If you’re not familiar with Mario Kart, it’s this level:

It’s been amazing and exhilarating and like nothing I could’ve imagined. Most of all, an absolute roller coaster! I started writing in my teens and got published in my early twenties. I didn’t study writing and my day job (teaching) doesn’t have a lot to do with books. But writing is what I’ve wanted to do since my teens. When you think about getting published, you think that the hardest part is going to be writing the book or getting the publishing contract but for me, they were the easier parts. Navigating the world of being a published writer, the incredible highs and the lows have been the more difficult part for me. But it’s the whole experience of the writing journey that’s shaped who I am and the books I write.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

The first book I had contracted for publication was actually a children’s picture book (The Prince who Shrank). My story came to the attention of an editor who attended one of my writers’ group meetings and from there I was offered a publishing contract. Joining a writers’ group was the best thing I could’ve done. You meet people with the same interests and develop friendships, you get feedback on your work, you learn to give feedback and improve your editing skills, you develop networks and opportunities. If you are an aspiring writer and not already part of one, join a writers’ group!

Was it different when getting your subsequent books published?

My next book that was contracted was a children’s chapter book (The Ugg Boot War), which was found in the slush pile. Following that, my first young adult novel, Masquerade, came to the attention of an editor from Penguin Books at the Sutherland Shire Writers’ Festival during a paid publishing consultation. From that I got a full manuscript request and from that a publishing deal. My newest young adult novel that is released in May, The Things I Didn’t Say, was probably the most straight forward book to get published. I sent the first draft to my editor and publisher who I’d worked on with Masquerade and waited to hear if they liked it and wanted to publish it – they did. The writing, editing and publishing process was much different with this book, though. Because it had been contracted from a terrible, shocking first draft there was a lot of work to do on it in an incredibly shorter timeframe.

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?

Oh gosh, I can only pick some?! Ok, my recent favs are Yellow by Megan Jacobson, Frankie by Shivaun Plozza and The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis. They will always and forever be my #YASquad2016. I also will never stop raving about The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta and anything by Amie Kaufman. Oh, and Spark and Stray by honorary OZYA author, Rachael Craw.

I have read both of her books and you can read my reviews of Masquerade and The Things I Didn’t Say and I lets just say I love them. You can find Kylie at @KylieFornasier on twitter, kyliefornasier.com and add her books on your goodreads.

The Thing’s I Didn’t Say by Kylie Fornasier

Pages: 320
Publish date: May 2nd 2016
Publisher: Penguin Teen Australia
ISBN: 9780143573630
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

I hate the label Selective Mutism – as if I choose not to speak, like a child who refuses to eat broccoli. I’ve used up every dandelion wish since I was ten wishing for the power to speak whenever I want to. I’m starting to wonder if there are enough dandelions.

After losing her best friend that night, Piper Rhodes changes schools, determined that her final year will be different. She will be different. Then she meets West: school captain, star soccer player, the boy everyone talks about. Despite her fear of losing everything all over again, Piper falls in love – and West with her – without Piper ever speaking one word to him. But will it last?

***

Thank you Kylie for joining me at Angel Reads. That is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Kylie and her books? I was lucky enough to meet Kylie a couple of months ago at the #YASquad2016 and she is so lovely.

Come back next week for some more Aussie fun. If you want to know more about the #LoveOZYA movement check out the website for all the details.

Armchair BEA 2016: Aesthetic Concerns

May 12, 2016

This is my first year participating in Armchair BEA and I have no idea how many of these posts I will be doing or how I can participate because I do run on Australian time, but I am ready for some fun. You can check out my introduction post, but today we are talking about Aesthetic Concerns. It’s split into two parts; the first books and then it’s all about the blog. So let’s get into it.

If you say that you don’t judge a book by its cover you are lying. Everyone one does it, even if they think they are not. Say you are at a book store and then something catches your eyes – that’s the cover. We should not do it, but we do, it’s the way our brain works – it just likes pretty things. I did do a full discussion of this a couple of months ago, that does go into more detail.

I also like – okay more like love that all my books match. I get quite angry when they are all mix matched ranging from the cover to the size of the book. So sometimes I wait to buy a series so I know I am getting them all the same or sometimes I go and buy a full new set, though this does not happen often.

In saying this, I do buy books with covers that are not my favourite mainly because, I do want to read what is inside. However, what I don’t like is when the cover doesn’t match what is on the inside of the book. The covers has to do with something, even if it is something little – it does have to match.

I have been book blogging for 5 years and I had never given much thought until this year about branding. It just never came to mind when I started, but now it’s coming quite common it the book blogging community.

I guess for me when people look at my blog – mu website – they think of the Angel and purple at first. It has always been my brand – pretty much from the get go. And that is most likely never going to change.

I also take pride in my book reviews, I love writing and sharing them with everyone and I do put quite a lot of work into them and have created a ‘me’ review in a sense that they sound like me. Well I think they do.

I also love creating features on my blog and I have done quite a few, like my most recent one of interviews with #LoveOZYA Authors.

I think that creating a book blog aesthetic is quite hard to do for yourself, so if anyone has ideas of what you would say mine is, do tell, I would love to know what you think.

How is your blog branded? What is its aesthetic? How do you judge books by their covers? Let’s Chat.

I love talking, so talk to me over on my twitter @angel_reads, Facebook, instagram, tumblr and Goodreads. You can also follow Angel Reads on Bloglovin and via email (in the side bar)