OZYA Archives - Page 18 of 20

#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: What I Saw by Beck Nicholas

Feb 25, 2016

What I Saw by Beck Nicholas

Pages: 320
Publish date: March 1, 2016
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 9781760371975
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Harlequin

One punch will shatter a town.

Is anyone ready for the consequences of the truth?

Callie Jones is not the kind of girl who gets drunk at school dances, and certainly not now, with her scholarship on the line. And she definitely doesn’t hang around with bad boys like Rhett Barker. Especially alone, at night. But these are the circumstances she finds herself in when she witnesses a king hit that lands the town’s golden boy in a coma.

With his reputation, no one is less surprised than Rhett when he is accused of throwing the punch. But he didn’t do it. And he knows Callie saw what really went down. He just has to convince the ‘ice princess’ to come forward and talk to the police – except, for once, good girl Callie doesn’t seem all that interested in telling the truth. Just what is she hiding, and why?

Drawn together by secrets, scandal and heartache, Callie and Rhett find themselves getting closer – even as the solution to their problems gets further away.

What I Saw:

I received an e-arc of What I Saw by Beck Nicholas via NetGalley from Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I have wanted to read this book from the moment that I heard about. I like novels that capture heartbreaking incidents from a different perspective. The king hit – is something quite big in Australia at the moment and a lot of I leads to death and the person that committed the crime, either getting away with it or being judged guilty for the crime.

But what happens when the person being accused of the crime didn’t do it? What if the person who was king hit is the towns darling? And what if the only person that saw what happened, wants to hide the truth? Then you have What I Saw by Beck Nicholas.

What I Saw follows protagonist Callie Jones and Rhett Barker as they go through a journey of hurt, truth, lies and questioning what would you truly do if someone you care for was in trouble.

I feel very confused about this book – it had so much potential, so much to go on and then it fell flat. The concept of the plot, intrigued me from the get go and that is what kept me reading. I wanted to know what would happen.

The romance was the biggest problem for me in What I Saw. The book went from about 3/4 days and in that time both Callie and Rhett pretty much feel in love with each other … too much instalove for me. Can it even be called that though? Since they have known each other or about each other for quite a bit.

If the book was set over a couple of weeks and the romance was building in that time – then I would have loved the romance, because Callie and Rhett are quite cute together, but it was just was too fast.

I enjoyed Rhett much more than I did Callie. I sympathised with Rhett and all I wanted to do was tell him that, somehow everything is going to be okay. Everyone pretty has hates Rhett and when is accused of the one doing the punching, it was never questioned. And gosh did it make me angry. I like these types of characters, those who are misunderstood, however I hate the situations. Rhett wasn’t who everyone thought he was, he is just this big squishy marshmallow.

In saying that, I didn’t like Callie as much. She annoyed me quite a bit throughout the novel was getting on my nerves. She wants to be ‘perfect,’ for her family and she plays guitar and just so uptight. I found her quite blank.

I also didn’t like her Callie’s parents, but when do I like parents in YA anyway – next to never.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy What I Saw but not as much as I thought I was going to, I liked the protagonists, but didn’t love them, the message of the book, stood out and I did enjoy that, because it is an important message. Something that everyone should listen to – one punch can kill.

Overall, What I Saw by Beck Nicholas shows us that sometimes the right thing to do is the hardest thing, that sometimes family isn’t everything and the importance of how a king hit can not only hurt the Victim but everyone else around them.

Have you read What I Saw? Are you going to read it? What did you think? Let’s Talk!

Book Review: Summer Skin by Kirsty Eagar

Feb 15, 2016

Summer Skin by Kirsty Eagar

Pages: 352
Publish date: February 1st 2016
Publisher: Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 9781925266924
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Jess Gordon is out for revenge. Last year the jocks from Knights College tried to shame her best friend. This year she and a hand-picked college girl gang are going to get even.

The lesson: don’t mess with Unity girls.

The target: Blondie, a typical Knights stud, arrogant, cold . . . and smart enough to keep up with Jess.

A neo-riot grrl with a penchant for fanning the flames meets a rugby-playing sexist pig – sworn enemies or two people who happen to find each other when they’re at their most vulnerable?

It’s all Girl meets Boy, Girl steals from Boy, seduces Boy, ties Boy to a chair and burns Boy’s stuff. Just your typical love story.

A searingly honest and achingly funny story about love and sex amid the hotbed of university colleges by the award-winning author of Raw Blue.

Summer Skin:

I was sent an arc of Summer Skin my Kirsty Eagar from Allen and Unwin in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Summer Skin is a sexy, funny, female driven OZ YA novel that reminds that things are not always what they seem and even people who seem all and mighty on the outside need a little loving. Summer Skin is also not for people under the age of 17, because there is loads of sexy time.

Summer Skin follows protagonist Jess as she forms a pack to give even with the jocks from Knights College that shamed her best friend and let’s just say at first things go to plan, then everything kind of falls apart.

I loved Jess, she was sassy and a feminist and stood up for what she believed it. It’s not rare that you get a strong female character in YA, however there is something about Jess that is different. Jess is by far not your usual protagonist, she is strong and takes shit from no one. And although she is strong she has a vulnerable side that stays hidden and only Blondie can pick that apart.

“I want you to revise your attitude. Women, amazingly enough, are allowed to like it. If that’s news to you, then you’re not doing it right.”

Blondie otherwise known was Mitch is your typical Alpha Male. He is sexy as hell, however he is also quite sexist to begin with and even if he did feel differently about he showed no signs of fixing what the Knights stand for.

The sexual tension between these two was off the scales from the very first chapter. I adored the banter and sarcasm between Jess and Mitch, it had me laughing quite a bit. It was nice to see that it wasn’t love at first sight, more of his hot and I would love to do stuff with him.

It was something very different, that you don’t normally see in YA, I loved it. Kirsty Eagar did that part so well. You wanted Jess and Mitch to get together, but you love that it was slow burning and started off with something other than I love you.

Both Jess and Mitch have dark pasts that they have to conquer throughout the novel and again something that Kirsty Eagar did so well was that Jess and Mitch talked a lot. They simply just talked. About how they felt, what they have been through and although it does take time to get through the cracks – it’s beautiful when it happens.

Jess has a hard time trusting males, because of the toxic relationship that she just got out off not long before the book started and we see throughout the book. Some people may not like Jess for some reasons and I can totally understand why, she has one way of thinking and it isn’t until Mitch breaks down her walls that she sees other things in life.

Mitch on the other hard holds a dark past, one that he feels terrible about and cannot seem to let go. He holds up a barrier that doesn’t let anyone get too close or even close at all. He uses the dick façade, so no one, especially girls don’t like him.

‘You’re probably also threatened by the fact that the guys here can cope with women in contexts other than porn. Not like a bunch of little lords who hate women because they secretly prefer getting hot and sweaty with each other under the guise of chasing a leather ball around a field.’

Nevertheless, they both start to break each other’s walls and sometimes the talking is sexier than sexy time.

However, sexy time is pretty saucy, but not like other New Adult novels that it takes over the story. It’s beautiful.

I loved the writing style of Eagar, it kept me engaged and I was able to read Summer Skin in a couple of hours. It was easy to read and I kept on turning page after page.

Summer Skin is not for the faint hearted, be prepared for a sexy, slow burning love full of passion and secrets. Summer Skin deals not only with young men taking advantage of women, but how women can act differently to it. It shows us that people hide behind fronts not only to keep themselves safe, but others as well. Summer Skin is full of empowering young women that take a stand.