Hey all!
I am so excited to welcome the dynamic duo behind A TOTALLY AWKWARD LOVE STORY, Tom & Lucy, to the blog so they can share their favorite books!
TOM:
1. Just William -
Richmal Crompton. This was the first book that made me realize how much fun
reading can be. It's a series about a mischievous English schoolboy, William
Brown, in the 1930s and 1940s, who loves nothing more than coming up with crazy
plans and having fun with his friends. I read these books when I was probably
10 or 11, and saw William as a proper hero - he was always very
anti-establishment; always in trouble with teachers and his parents, and I
remember wanting to be just like him!
2. The Secret Diary of
Adrian Mole Aged 13 and 3/4 - Sue Townsend. This is basically the Bible of
awkward teenage comedy. It's a "diary" written by a pretentious,
unlucky-in-love, socially awkward British teenager called Adrian Mole. Serious
laugh-out-loud comic writing. Reading this for the first time made me realize I
wanted to write funny books.
3. Molesworth -
Geoffrey Willians & Ronald Searle. Yet ANOTHER funny, old British book
about ridiculous, badly-behaved schoolboys...! I read this when I was probably
about 13 or 14, and it was the first time I realized a book could be capable of
causing uncontrollable laughter. It's the story of Nigel Molesworth, a scruffy,
over-imaginative, and usually quite grumpy, public schoolboy, who talks the
reader through all aspects of his life, from how to avoid the craziest
teachers, to how to attract girls. As well as finding it extremely funny, I
also remember (as a 13-year-old) being struck by how deep it was, since it
contained lines like: "History started badly and hav been getting steadily
worse" and "Grown ups are what's left when skool is finished."
4. At Swim-Two-Birds -
Flann O'Brien. This is probably my all-time favorite book. It was written
in 1939, and it's the story of a disheveled, permanently drunk, Irish student
who tries to write three different novels, only to find that his characters’
start getting away from him and embarking on lives of their own. It switches
between insane fantasy and brilliantly grubby reality, and contains such
amazing lines as: "My uncle went out to the hall, sending back his voice
back to annoy me in his absence".
5. Harry Potter &
The Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling.
We have tons of Harry Potter references in A TOTALLY AWKWARD LOVE STORY, and
this is probably my favorite book of the series. It's got it all - the
Tri-Wizard Cup, the lake, the dragons, the ball, Ron wearing that ridiculous
gown... Everything. Plus, I really fancy Fleur.
LUCY:
6. I Capture the
Castle - Dodie Smith. I think this is one of the most beautiful books ever
written. It’s about what it really means to love somebody. It’s about
heartbreak and growing up and family. It’s beautiful and perfect and is the
first book I felt really spoke to me and what I was thinking and feeling.
7. Pride and Prejudice
- Jane Austen. It’s the most famous for a reason. So many imitations but
nothing ever quite matches it.
8. Ariel - Sylvia
Plath I studied this when I was seventeen. It has notes I swapped with my
friends in class all over it. It just reminds me of school in a way no other
book does.
9. Romeo and Juliet -
William Shakespeare. I studied this in year nine and all I could think
about was how much I wanted to feel that way about someone else.
10. The Tiger That
Came to Tea - Judith Kerr. A tiger just casually turns up for tea and no
one really thinks it’s weird. It’s so mental. I just love it.
You can make your own cover to share with your friends!
About A TOTALLY AWKWARD LOVE STORY:
The summer before college Hannah is finally
going to find The One. Then again, meeting him in the master bathroom of a
house party--definitely not romantic. But for five perfect minutes, she's found
him. She just wishes she caught his name, because "Toilet Boy
Cinderella" really lacks sex appeal.
Sam is over the moon that he met this strange
and hilarious girl at a house party. Of course, with his luck, it couldn't
last--without knowing her name, he'll probably never see her again, and remain
a girlfriendless moony-eyed virgin. Forever. What follows is a summer hell-bent
on keeping Sam and Hannah apart. For two people so clearly destined for one
another, they sure have a lot of trouble even getting together.
Filled with
madcap, hilarious moments, and deep romance, A TOTALLY AWKWARD LOVE STORY will have teens and adults
laughing-out-loud as they commiserate with Sam and Hannah, and remember their
own awkward moments. Bustle hailed the book as “totally
relatable” and one that will transport adult readers “back to your awkward
teenage years.” With Ellen writing Sam’s parts of the story and Ivison writing
Hannah’s, A TOTALLY AWKWARD LOVE STORY has
a truly authentic feel and is the perfect balance of humor and heart that all
readers will enjoy.
TOM ELLEN AND LUCY IVISION met at the
end of high school and quickly became sweethearts. Though they broke up in
college, they remain best friends. Lucy runs the online teen magazine Whatever After and teaches in girls’
schools across London, specializing in building confidence and creativity. Tom
is a journalist and has written for Time
Out, Vice, ESPN, Glamour, and many other publications. They cowrote A Totally Awkward Love Story, which was
partially inspired by their own high school relationship. This is their first
novel. Follow Lucy on Twitter at @lucyivison
Tour Schedule:
William Lashner is the New York Times Bestselling creator of Victor Carl, who has been called by Booklist one of the mystery novel's "most compelling, most morally ambiguous characters." The Victor Carl novels, which have been translated into more than a dozen foreign languages and have been sold all across the globe, include BAGMEN, KILLER'S KISS, FALLS THE SHADOW, FATAL FLAW, and HOSTILE WITNESS. He is also the author of BLOOD AND BONE, THE ACCOUNTING, and, most recently, THE BARKEEP, which was a Digital Book World Number One Bestselling Ebook.
