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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
4 Stars.
The main characters in Sarah Ayoub’s The Yearbook Committee are Matty, Charlie, Ryan, Tammi, and Gillian. The story revolves around the five teammates who are drawn together to create a Yearbook of their final year at school. All of them are reluctant, (expect Gillian,) to get involved in this activity. In fact the five would most probably never have been friends if it wasn’t for their involvement in the Committee. As the Yearbook develops so do their friendships. In fact these new relationships make the Yearbookers’ question some of their existing friendships, and an unlikely but strong bond is formed.
I must admit that I found The Yearbook Committee a little slow to get into at first, but maybe I’m showing my age! Ha ha!! The chapters are set out in alternating Pov’s of the five characters, so perhaps it takes a while for the reader, (particularly oldies like me!) to engage with each individual character. Nevertheless I enjoyed The Yearbook Committee. I’d say that its strongest characteristic by far is its exceptionally well written and believable dialogue. Though, I didn’t get much of a sense of place. Of course we know the novel is set in Australia but there’s very little descriptive language. So perhaps not a recommendation for readers who enjoy a lot of descriptive language…
The Yearbook Committee will definitely appeal to those who enjoy YA, teen books, character led stories with tons of engaging dialogue, an emphasis on the wide ranging difficulties and peer pressures of growing up. The novel highlights a wide range of diverse issues: cyber bullying, having a sibling with Downs, coping with a parent with severe depression, non-nuclear families, moving to a new school, distracted and disinterested parents, lost dreams, pressure to have sex, to do well, to be popular, to take drugs..
The characters are:
Charlie’s just moved from Melbourne with her mum and stepdad to Sydney. She didn’t want to move and is determined not to fit in. She’s the bright spark and feminist of the group.
Ryan is the clever, athletic, popular but nice guy whose dreams are smashed by an injury.
Matty is the scholarship kid who has a tough time of it working two jobs to try to help and support his depressed mother who can’t even get herself together to go to parent’s meetings.
Tammi is to some degree defined by others. She is best friends with the popular but meanest girl going. Tammi finds it hard to convince her parents that she’d like to be a police officer.
Gillian is the only one of the five who volunteered to be on the Yearbook Committee. She’s a politician’s daughter and the target of cyber bullies, and constantly in the media spotlight.
The key words: Revelations, Relationships, Frustrations, Explorations, Decisions, Unlikely Friendships, Unfortunate, Sad, Tragic, Thoughtful (Ryan’s final chapter,) Teen, YA, Social Media, Current, are the key words I would use to describe The Yearbook Committee.
If these appeal to you then I’d recommend that you pick up a copy!
The ending really smashed it for me, very moving and emotional, making up for the slow start.
My Star rating : 4 stars.
Recommendation: Read.
The main characters in Sarah Ayoub’s The Yearbook Committee are Matty, Charlie, Ryan, Tammi, and Gillian. The story revolves around the five teammates who are drawn together to create a Yearbook of their final year at school. All of them are reluctant, (expect Gillian,) to get involved in this activity. In fact the five would most probably never have been friends if it wasn’t for their involvement in the Committee. As the Yearbook develops so do their friendships. In fact these new relationships make the Yearbookers’ question some of their existing friendships, and an unlikely but strong bond is formed.
I must admit that I found The Yearbook Committee a little slow to get into at first, but maybe I’m showing my age! Ha ha!! The chapters are set out in alternating Pov’s of the five characters, so perhaps it takes a while for the reader, (particularly oldies like me!) to engage with each individual character. Nevertheless I enjoyed The Yearbook Committee. I’d say that its strongest characteristic by far is its exceptionally well written and believable dialogue. Though, I didn’t get much of a sense of place. Of course we know the novel is set in Australia but there’s very little descriptive language. So perhaps not a recommendation for readers who enjoy a lot of descriptive language…
The Yearbook Committee will definitely appeal to those who enjoy YA, teen books, character led stories with tons of engaging dialogue, an emphasis on the wide ranging difficulties and peer pressures of growing up. The novel highlights a wide range of diverse issues: cyber bullying, having a sibling with Downs, coping with a parent with severe depression, non-nuclear families, moving to a new school, distracted and disinterested parents, lost dreams, pressure to have sex, to do well, to be popular, to take drugs..
The characters are:
Charlie’s just moved from Melbourne with her mum and stepdad to Sydney. She didn’t want to move and is determined not to fit in. She’s the bright spark and feminist of the group.
Ryan is the clever, athletic, popular but nice guy whose dreams are smashed by an injury.
Matty is the scholarship kid who has a tough time of it working two jobs to try to help and support his depressed mother who can’t even get herself together to go to parent’s meetings.
Tammi is to some degree defined by others. She is best friends with the popular but meanest girl going. Tammi finds it hard to convince her parents that she’d like to be a police officer.
Gillian is the only one of the five who volunteered to be on the Yearbook Committee. She’s a politician’s daughter and the target of cyber bullies, and constantly in the media spotlight.
The key words: Revelations, Relationships, Frustrations, Explorations, Decisions, Unlikely Friendships, Unfortunate, Sad, Tragic, Thoughtful (Ryan’s final chapter,) Teen, YA, Social Media, Current, are the key words I would use to describe The Yearbook Committee.
If these appeal to you then I’d recommend that you pick up a copy!
The ending really smashed it for me, very moving and emotional, making up for the slow start.
My Star rating : 4 stars.
Recommendation: Read.
2.5 that could be 4.5 if it weren't for that horrible ending.
I actually loved the idea of the book and have been (impatiently) waiting for its release, but I am so shocked and kinda disappointed. She had so many good ideas and the plot was awesome, but she gave us no resolution whatsoever (so Ryan gets enlightened and comes to a philosophical conclusion, but you just can't introduce so many plotlines and leave most of them hanging). We barely know anything about what happens to the characters after, not to mention that big ass plot twist at the end. I didn't think it was that kind of book, and that's okay, but I would've been pleasantly surprised if she had handled it better. Which she didn't. Such a shame.
I actually loved the idea of the book and have been (impatiently) waiting for its release, but I am so shocked and kinda disappointed. She had so many good ideas and the plot was awesome, but she gave us no resolution whatsoever (so Ryan gets enlightened and comes to a philosophical conclusion, but you just can't introduce so many plotlines and leave most of them hanging). We barely know anything about what happens to the characters after, not to mention that big ass plot twist at the end. I didn't think it was that kind of book, and that's okay, but I would've been pleasantly surprised if she had handled it better. Which she didn't. Such a shame.
Awful. Not recommending to anyone. The characters had zero growth and were so unlikable. There was even the line “I’m not other girls”, we have one of those, yes. No reprimands for characters that deserved it and does not deal with the problems sought out in the book such as: fat shaming, bullying, online bullying, Down syndrome, etc. Only good things were 2 characters and the way it kept you grippers the last 50 pages, wish it was like that the other 200. So many things were lest unresolved. I cant even go into detail how much I hated this book. There’s so much else like: Charlie’s awful character, the bullying to Gillian never resolved, David never learning his lesson, Rachel never learning her lesson for SO SO SO SO SO MANY THINGS. 1 and a half stars.
"And if we want to change this world for the better, then we must be the best possible version of ourselves, because who we are in each moment is our gift to the universe."
medium-paced
lighthearted
medium-paced
Took a while to get going, and it was quite predictable.
This is the story of five year 12 kids who are forced to work together on their school yearbook, and how they gradually become friends over the course of the year. Essentially, it feels a lot like a 21st century Looking for Alibrandi. Which, honestly, I'm totally okay with. But I got that impression very early on in the story, and couldn't get past it.
It's about a group of teenagers finding themselves, dealing with family expectations, dealing with changing family situations, changing friendships and changing ideas about university. It's about realising that first impressions can be wrong, and that your parents don't always know what's best for you.
I don't think it will stick with me the same way that Looking for Alibrandi has, solely because there are five narrators instead of one, and as much as I loved all five of the characters, it's harder to connect with them than with a single narrator.
On the whole, it was funny and feelsy and I kind of loved it.
It's about a group of teenagers finding themselves, dealing with family expectations, dealing with changing family situations, changing friendships and changing ideas about university. It's about realising that first impressions can be wrong, and that your parents don't always know what's best for you.
I don't think it will stick with me the same way that Looking for Alibrandi has, solely because there are five narrators instead of one, and as much as I loved all five of the characters, it's harder to connect with them than with a single narrator.
On the whole, it was funny and feelsy and I kind of loved it.
I liked this book as a whole, a lot, but the ending was sad and unnecessary and Gillian deserved a lot better. That was bullshit.
OK I AM ACTUALLY REALLY MAD ABOUT IT
OK I AM ACTUALLY REALLY MAD ABOUT IT