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#LoveOZYA Author Interview: Sarah Ayoub

Apr 1, 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.

To open this new feature I am interviewing the lovely Sarah Ayoub. Sarah is the author of Hate is Such A Strong Word (2013, HarperCollins Australia) and The Yearbook Committee (2016, HarperCollins Australia). Let the Interview begin.

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

Hi everyone! I’m a Sydney-based journalist and author of two novels published by Harper Collins (Hate is Such a Strong Word and The Yearbook Committee). I teach Journalism at the University of Notre Dame Australia and run writing workshops in high schools. My work has been published in Marie-Claire, Sunday Style, CLEO, Girlfriend, Cosmopolitan, Shop Til You Drop, Yen, Frankie and more. I wanted to be a journalist from the age of 10 – I was a big fan of Superman and basically wanted to be Lois Lane. I love cake and afternoon tea, am a hopeless Francophile, and often feel like I was meant to be born in a different time. I’m definitely an old soul, with a big sense of wonder and wanderlust.

What has your writing journey been like? When did you start? Why?
I suppose I started writing in my late teens, but I wrote a lot of rhyming poems that were very ‘young’. I went to university thinking I would wind up in PR, before realising in third year that I was a hopeless suck up and sales person and that my sense of curiosity and unabashed penchant for asking questions would suit feature writing better. I didn’t plan on writing books – they were never a part of my ‘plan’ – but I started writing Hate on a whim and eventually had ten chapters to show an agent. I just felt like Sophie’s character was strong and she had an important story to tell.

What was the process of getting your first book published?
I was really lucky in that it happened without too much effort on my part. I had ten chapters which I took along to a manuscript assessment day at the NSW Writer’s Centre. Following my session (which had its fair shares of compliments and criticisms), I sent my ten chapters to an agent I had been introduced to and she immediately said that while the story had potential, my writing needed a lot of work. I hadn’t studied creative writing so there was a lot of trial and error. I wrote my manuscript three times (the third time on trains as I travelled round Europe) before sending it to the agent from a remote village overseas. I returned home two weeks later and found that I’d had an offer from a publisher. It was all incredibly exciting for me.

Was it different when getting your subsequent books published?
Writing my first book was simpler because I had no expectations. I just wrote because I didn’t know what would come of it. I wrote with complete freedom. Writing the second book was harder – I wrote it in a short space of time because by then I had the creative writing skills (showing not telling) that I had not had before – but this time I had a publisher who had expectations so I didn’t know if I was meeting them. It was a very anxious time.

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?
I love Australian stories and I love that Australian YA leads the charge in areas of diversity and intelligent books for its readers. I loved reading John Marsden (So much to tell you, Letters from the Inside, Winter etc) and Jaclyn Moriarty (The Brookfield/Ashbury stories) in my teens and Melina Marchetta’s books are constant faves (I seriously can’t choose between Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca, and On the Jellicoe Road). Lately I’ve loved Kirsty Eager’s Summer Skin, Fleur Ferris’ Risk, and Claire Zorn’s The Protected.

You can find Sarah at @bysarahayoub on twitter, sarahayoub.com and add her books to your goodreads

Hate is such a Strong Word by Sarah Ayoub

Pages: 256
Publish date: September 1st 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
ISBN: 0732296846
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

I hate being invisible.

I hate that I still can′t fight my own battles.

I hate that I can′t keep up with the demands of high school.

Sophie Kazzi is in Year 12 at an all-Lebanese, all-Catholic school where she is invisible, uncool and bored out of her brain. While she′s grown up surrounded by Lebanese friends, Lebanese neighbours and Lebanese shops, she knows there′s more to life than Samboosik and Baklawa, and she desperately wants to find it.

Unfortunately, her father has antiquated ideas about women, curfews and the Lebanese ′way′. Bad news for Sophie, who was hoping to spend Year 12 fitting in and having fun – not babysitting her four younger siblings, or studying for final exams that will land her in an Accounting course she has no interest in.

Just when it looks like Sophie′s year couldn′t get any more complicated, Shehadie Goldsmith arrives at school. With an Australian father and a Lebanese mother, he′s even more of a misfit than Sophie. And with his arrogant, questioning attitude, he also has a way of getting under her skin…

But when simmering cultural tensions erupt in violence, Sophie must make a choice that will threaten her family, friends and the cultural ties that have protected her all her life.

Are her hates and complaints worth it? Or will she let go … and somehow find her place?

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?

And that is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Sarah and her books? I hope you enjoyed it. 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.

Book Review: Follow Me Back by Nicci Cloke

Mar 31, 2016

Follow Me Back by Nicci Cloke

Pages: 288
Publish date: February 4th 2016
Publisher: Hot Key Books
ISBN: 9781471405082
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

There was no sign of a struggle, they whisper to each other. She took her phone but left her laptop behind.
Apparently, she’d met someone online, they write to each other in class, phones buzzing.
She ran away. She was taken.The first time Aiden Kendrick hears about Lizzie Summersall’s disappearance is when the police appear at his front door. He and Lizzie used to be friends; they aren’t anymore. And when Aiden finds out that Lizzie had been talking to strangers on Facebook; that the police think she went to meet one of them, he begins to wonder how well he ever really knew her, and Aiden doesn’t know it yet, but with Lizzie’s disappearance his life is about to take a twisted and desperate turn.

Follow Me Back

I received a review copy of Follow Me Back by Nicci Cloke from Hot Key Books in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way included my thoughts and feelings about the book.

When I asked to review this book, I was expecting it to blow my mind – however it fell short. I was waiting for something more, something big to happen and something did happen, but it was not what I was expecting and it was a letdown.

Follow Me Back follows Aiden as he deals with the disappearance of Lizzie Summersall. Aiden and Lizzie used to be friends – well more than friends and as the novel goes on we get to find out more information about the two of them.

I have a like/hate relationship with Aiden. I liked him at points, but he was really annoying. For a lot of the book he was just complaining. A girl was missing, a girl that he knew quite well. And all he cared about was about she wasn’t with him anymore. However, I did like that we predominately had a male protagonist. You don’t see that much in YA and it was interesting, in that sense.

I didn’t like that it changes POV in the middle of the book. Most of Follow Me Back is told from Aiden’s point of view, but then it changes to so many different people. It would have worked so much better if it was told just from Aiden’s.

I also didn’t like how the internet was portrayed in Follow Me Back. I understand where the author was coming from. The internet can be horrible, however the way that it comes across to me is everyone on the internet is horrible and that you should never meet people that you talk to online.

I found this unreal and annoying simply because I have met with people that I talk to online in real life. There are those who are not who they say they are, but not everyone.

I liked that the author used internet slag in Follow Me Back however, at times it got too much and I felt that I was reading old conversations my 14 year old self.

Even though this book was a ‘thriller,’ it was slow. The pace of the whole book was slow and took ages to find out what was really happening. Nevertheless, I liked how the book had many twists and turns. I had no idea who to believe, what to believe.

There were a few surprises here and there and I did like that, however there were other parts that were quite predictable.

The ending, sort of confused me. It was left kind of open ended and it some things did tie up, but there was so much left in the open especially between characters. I wanted to know more.

In saying that, I also felt disconnected from the characters of Follow Me Back. Aiden didn’t really have a character arc and there was no reason for me to connect with him. I also felt that way with Lizzie, I wanted to know what happened with her, however I didn’t really…care.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Follow Me Back it kept me entertained and focus while I was reading it. Though the main protagonist was annoying and acted like everything was about him, Follow Me Back does delve deep into the dangers of the internet and that sometimes it can be a dangerous place that can do harm.

Have you read Follow Me Back? What did you think of it? Are you going to read it? Let’s Chat.

Book Review: The Natural History of Us by Rachel Harris

Mar 30, 2016

The Natural History of Us by Rachel Harris

Pages:297
Publish date: April 5th 2016
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
ISBN: 1633920682
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

One class assignment. One second chance at love. The school player is all in. Now he needs to win back the sweet commitment girl who’s forever owned his heart.

Justin Carter has a secret. He’s not the total player Fairfield Academy believes him to be. Not really. In fact, he used to be a one-woman guy…and his feelings for her never went away. Too bad he broke her heart three years ago and made sure to ruin any chance she’d ever forgive him.

Peyton Williams is a liar. She pretends to be whole, counting down the days until graduation and helping her parents at the family ranch. But the truth is, she’s done everything she can to get over Justin, and salvation is just around the corner. With graduation one short month away, she’ll soon break free from the painful memories and start her life fresh. Of course, she has to get through working with him on one last assignment first.

For Justin, nothing ever felt as right as being with Peyton, and now that fate’s given him a shot at redemption, he’s determined to make the most of it. And for Peyton…well, Justin Carter has always been her kryptonite.

The Natural History of Us:

I received an e-arc of The Natural History of Us by Rachel Harris from Spencer Hill Press via Inkslinger PR in conjunction with The Natural History of Us Blog Tour. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

This is the first YA book from Rachel Harris that I have read, which is totally wired because I love her stuff. I have only read her NA books before this one. So when I received this for review, I was very excited and I loved it.

The Natural History of Us was a fun, emotional read that is sweet and adorable. You want to find out what happened? What is going to happen? And how everything is going to be fixed?

The Natural History of Us follows protagonist Justin and Peyton. Two people that were torn apart and with a school assignment are brought back together. They have their ups and their downs it’s not just about their relationship, but so much more.

The Natural History of Us is told in two coinciding parts. The first is before the incident. We don’t know what the incident is, we just know one part and as the novel goes it slowly unfolds. Then we have the ‘now,’ the pairing of Justin and Peyton for the assignment and how everything goes from there.

It was certainly a smart way of doing this. Instead of telling how Justin and Peyton used to be, it’s shown. At first it was a little confusing just to get used to the two time placements, but I quickly got used to it.

I loved the characterisation and character arcs of both Peyton and Justin through The Natural History of Us. The characters grow throughout the novel and we can see it.

Peyton, was a likable character and protagonist. She wasn’t annoying, though at some points I wanted to give her a knock on the back of her head, as a ‘come on,’ however we all have those moments.

I loved Justin, I just want to be his best friend and he needs one. I am not saying that his friends are horrible, because they are not. But he needs someone to be there for me, for him to tell everything. He had that in Peyton, until everything went south.

I liked that setting of The Natural History of Us. I don’t know what it’s like to live on a farm, but the way that it’s presented in the book, let me use my imagination and it was fun.

Nevertheless, there were also some amazing things that happened in The Natural History of Us. That made you want to cry. They weren’t the amazing that is the best thing in the world, but the amazing, that I am glad that Rachel Harris used them in her book.

I love Rachel Harris’ writing style, it’s easy to read and you know that when you start her books, you are going to finish them pretty quickly because you want to know what is going to happen next.

Overall, The Natural History of Us tells us a story of how two people that have been torn apart can be brought back together. With writing that is captivating, a story line that is intriguing and characters that you want to be friends with, The Natural History of Us is a book for every contemporary fan or not.

Have you read any books from Rachel Harris? Have you read The Natural History of Us? Are you going to read it? Let’s Chat.

About Rachel Harris:

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Harris writes humorous love stories about sassy girls-next-door and the hot guys that make them swoon. Vibrant settings, witty banter, and strong relationships are a staple in each of her books…and kissing. Lots of kissing.

An admitted Diet Mountain Dew addict and homeschool mom, she gets through each day by laughing at herself, hugging her kids, and watching way too much Food Network with her husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romances, and LOVES talking with readers!

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