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WORK TITLE: All the Jingle Ladies
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WEBSITE:
CITY: London
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COUNTRY: United Kingdom
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RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Female.
EDUCATION:Has a degree in biology.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Media creator, television producer, and writer. Worked at the BBC.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
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Beth Garrod is a television producer, media creator, and author based in London. After graduating with a degree in biology, she went to work for the BBC. She discovered that she enjoyed creating media for teenagers, which then led to her writing for young adults and children. She now freelances for a variety of media companies. As a writer, she has written the “Super Awkward” young-adult series and a number of standalone novels for young adults and middle-grade readers. She has also cowritten the early-reader graphic novel series “The Inflatables.”
Two of Garrod’s young-adult novels are romantic comedies set around the Christmas season. The first was published in the United Kingdom as All I Want for Christmas and in the United States as Blame It on the Mistletoe. The story features two sixteen-year-old girls. One is the U.S. social media star Ellie, who is looking to swap homes with one of her fans in Britain for the holidays so that she can create new content. The fan, Holly, is happy to switch things up, as her mother is selling their house and she wants to get away. The story is told in alternating chapters from the two different perspectives, as Holly falls in love with Ellie’s twin brother and Ellie finds love of her own.
A writer in Publishers Weekly enjoyed the “holiday festivities galore” as well as the “social media skullduggery, surprises, and secrets.” They predicted that the “bow-wrapped ending will . . . appeal.” A contributor in Kirkus Reviews called the book “laugh-out-loud funny” and a “roller-coaster drama.” They predicted that American readers would enjoy getting to know British Christmas traditions, and they appreciated the story’s moral: “that in the end it’s friends, not followers, who count.”
All the Jingle Ladies is another Christmas romantic comedy targeted at young adults. In this outing, British protagonist Molly hates Christmas. Ten years ago when she was little, her parents featured her in the video for a cheesy Christmas song. Now as a teenager, she finds the whole thing mortifying. Even worse, the song has just been featured in a new holiday film, so Molly has to experience the song everywhere she goes while trying to hide her childhood fame from the people in her new town. When she meets a cute American boy, however, she falls for him, but he seems to be hiding something, too. “It’s impossible not to root for the likable characters,” wrote a contributor in Kirkus Reviews. They particularly enjoyed watching Molly’s transformation over the course of the book, and they called the story a “heartfelt, festive, and affirming romance.”
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2021, review of Blame It on the Mistletoe; July 1, 2022, review of The Inflatables in Mission Un-Poppable; November 1, 2024, review of All the Jingle Ladies.
Publishers Weekly, September 13, 2021, review of Blame It on the Mistletoe, p. 68.
ONLINE
Beth Garrod website, https://bethgarrod.com/ (February 19, 2025).
Book Riot, https://bookriot.com/ (September 23, 2017), Lucas Maxwell, author interview.
Nerd Daily, https://thenerddaily.com/ (October 1, 2024), Elise Dumpleton, author interview.
Page to Stage Reviews, https://www.pagetostagereviews.com (October 26, 2016), review of Super Awkward.
Queen of Lexis, https://www.queenoflexis.co.uk/ (September 11, 2016), author interview.
Series
Bella Fisher
1. Super Awkward (2016)
2. Truly Madly Awkward (2017)
3. Access All Awkward (2018)
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Inflatables (with Jess Hitchman)
1. In Bad Air Day (2022)
2. In Mission Un-Poppable (2022)
3. In Do-Nut Panic! (2022)
4. In Splash of the Titans (2023)
Total Splashdown (2023)
5. The Inflatables in Snack to the Future (2023)
6. The Inflatables in Air to the Throne (2024)
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Novels
Take a Chance on Me (2019)
All I Want For Christmas (2020)
Sister Switch (2021)
Blame It on the Mistletoe (2021)
All the Jingle Ladies (2022)
The Unfortunate Wishes of Nelly Young (2023)
About Me
Hello – I’m Beth, Super Awkward author. Which just about describes everything really. I started off writing comedy YA fiction, but now do middle-grade and 6+ graphic novels too.
Super Awkward was my debut book (published by Scholastic, 2016), but I had been writing for teenagers for a looong time. And being awkward in my own life for even longer.
Super Awkward was the first of three books about Bella Fisher – the second one was Truly Madly Awkward, and then came Access All Awkward.
I then wrote two comedy fiction YA books – the first is all about Meg, and her summer holiday packed with boy based drama – Take A Chance On Me. Then came a true festive-fest that followed the lives of Holly and Elle, as they swapped lives, and switched over the Atlantic, in All I Want for Christmas. This came out in America with a brand new title – Blame It On The Mistletoe.
I’ve got two middle-grade books with Simon and Schuster, Sister Switch and The (Unfortunate) Wishes of Nelly Young.
And then there’s the The Inflatables, a 6+ graphic novel series about the adventures of Flamingo, Watermelon, Donut and Watermelon at Have A Great Spray. I write these with the awesome Jess Hitchman and they’re illustrated by the amazing Chris Danger. So far in the series there is Bad Air Day, Mission Un-Poppable, Do-Nut Panic, Splash of the Titans, Snack to the Future and Air to the Throne (coming soon)….
Anyway, about me. After doing a biology degree, I put it to excellent use by getting a job at the BBC and working on everything from Blue Peter to TOTP and Radio 1, before leaving to go freelance. But I missed making stuff that made me laugh about awkward moments, so I wrote Super Awkward in my spare time.
Since then I’ve lived in lots of countries, working on pro-social campaigns for young people, but getting to do cool stuff with places like MTV, Comic Relief, the UN and Nickelodeon. I’ve also been lucky enough to work on some really fun writing things, like a BAFTA winning AR book – A Brief History of Amazing Stunts and a BFI funded script all about young girls in tech (Planet Jeevie). I also come up with new product ideas and Continuous Greetings – my range of greetings cards for two people, that you send back and forth over years – came out with Chronicle Books in 2023.
I’m represented by the incredible Gemma Cooper at The Bent Agency. She is brilliant.
I currently live in east London, and dream of owning a dog.
If you want to say hello, or ask a question, please do.
8 Awkward Questions for SUPER AWKWARD author Beth Garrod
An interview with Beth Garrod, author of Super Awkward and the recently published Truly Madly Awkward, books about surviving teen life.
Lucas Maxwell Sep 23, 2017
I recently sat down with London author Beth Garrod for a quick interview. Her debut novel Super Awkward, published by Scholastic, has been extremely popular with teens for its portrayal of Bella Fisher. Bella can’t help but get in her own way when it comes to school and life in general.
Beth GarrodSuper Awkward was one of the most popular books at the high school library that I manage and it was a pleasure to have her meet a large group of Year 8 students in May of the last school year.
Super Awkward also won our high school’s book award last year, The Bookling. The Bookling is our annual award that is chosen entirely by student votes.
In addition to being an author, Beth Garrod has worked as a TV producer. Her credits include MTV and Blue Peter to name a few. It was a real pleasure to talk to her. Beth’s second novel, Truly Madly Awkward was published on 7th September.
Lucas Maxwell: What is the biggest challenge you face when writing from the perspective of a teenager?
Beth Garrod: I think the biggest challenge is the fear of getting it wrong?! Young people get so badly represented by the media, and get associated with so many lazy stereotypes, I would be mortified if I added to that in anyway. On a more practical level, it’s about trying to be as accurate as possible about what it means to be a young person now, without sounding like an old person who’s just learned about Snapchat Discover for the first time.
Super Awkward
LM: What is the first book that made you cry?
BG: My memory is pretty bad, so I can’t remember the first, but I can remember crying so much at The Fault In Our Stars that a stranger offered me a tissue. Why on earth I thought I could read it in public, I have no idea?!
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LM: Have you ever experienced READER’s block?
BG: Of course! Especially after you read a book that you LOVE. Then the next one – even if it’s amazing – can feel a bit of a slog. I do sometimes put a book on hold and come back to it.
LM: How important is it that teens see themselves in your books?
BG: Well, I’d love them to – whether they do or not is up to every individual reader. For me the dream is that they identify with it enough to find it funny – that it might give them a bit of cheer in their day. And the mega-dream is that they’d see that the characters don’t always get it right, and that they don’t always feel like they fit in -and that’s just fine.
LM: How did your background in TV & Radio help prepare you to write a YA novel?
BG: I think the main thing is that it means constantly being around young people. Which is great. And that chatting about Taylor Swift conspiracy theories is a legitimate way to spend my working day. Working on digital platforms also means constant feedback and input from the audience – which is invaluable.
Super Awkward
LM: What are you reading right now?
BG: I’m just finishing up When Dimple Met Rishi which I have LOVED – it made me feel a little bit like I was falling in love too.
LM: What advice do you have to teens who will look back on their lives and wish they had some good advice to hang on to?
BG: Some good advice is probably to not come to me for good advice?! I’m still pretty clueless. But I am a big believer that people shouldn’t rule themselves out of being able to achieve certain things, like becoming a writer, or awesome scientist, or photographer, or whatever – because in ten years time there will be new people doing all that stuff, so why can’t it be them?
Truly Madly Awkward
LM: Finally, and I ask this of every author I interview. If you had to choose a TV family to live with, who would you choose? Also, you have to live with them…FOREVER!
BG: I took a long time over this question. A LONG time. Can I go with the Cohen’s from The OC? Then I be actual friends with Seth and Summer, live in California, legitimately drink from red cups AND their house is so huge I could basically have my own wing and all my friends could visit.
Sunday, 11 September 2016
SUPER AWKWARD BLOG TOUR: Q&A with Beth Garrod
Today is the final stop on the blog tour for Super Awkward, the hilarious new novel by Beth Garrod! I'm please to share with you all this Q&A with the lady herself.
1. Hi Beth, welcome to The Queen of Teen Fiction! Can you tell us a little bit about your novel, Super Awkward?
Of course! Thanks for asking me. Ok, Super Awkward. It’s about a fifteen year old girl, called Bella Fisher (Fishy Balls, to her ex) and her quest to have just one day pass by without doing something so mortifying she Googles, ‘how much food would I need to buy to officially become a hermit’. It’s a book that’s about friendships, boys – specifically the hottest boy in the world, NO BIG DEAL – and worrying that everyone else has it all figured out. Oh, and there are a lot of crisps in it. And Dairy Milk with Daim.
2. What was it that inspired you to write the story?
I guess I wasn’t inspired as such, it was just getting the chance to write similar sort of stuff as a job (AKA THE DREAM JOB) when I started off at the BBC in Science, and realised I could swap writing about planets, for popstars and periods. Sometimes even popstars having periods. And once I started, I fell in love, and as my job changed it was the thing I carried on doing as a hobby. I have also spoken to some many young people who feel as if they’re the only ones who feel like they don’t fit in, or are worrying about weird stuff – so if just one person feels a bit happier at the end of a day, or realises that, like Bella, it’s totally normal to not have stuff figured out, I will die happy (ARGH, I’M PROBABLY NOT MEANT TO WRITE ABOUT DEATH WHEN TALKING ABOUT A BOOK ABOUT SNOGGING, I’M REALLY SORRY).
3. Tell us about your main character, Bella! What do you think readers will love about her?
Bella. Hmmm. Well, what I hope readers will love about her, is that she’s constantly trying to get stuff right, which only makes her get it all more wrong. And, in life, I know I much prefer people with good intentions that those with good life skills. I also hope they also love her dog, as she was based on my very own dog when I was a teenager (RIP Mumbles) (ARRRRGHHHHH, I’M TALKING ABOUT DEATH AGAIN).
4. What was the most challenging part of the writing process for you?
Not writing about death all the time cos I’m clearly obsessed with it.
NO. Obvs that was a joke.
I’m really disorganised, and don’t plan anything, so for me the hardest parts were trying to make things happen in the right place.
I also cringe at writing kissing stuff (lucky Bella isn’t exactly a snogging lothario, or I’d be in trouble), and I don’t enjoy the bits where stuff isn’t working out. SPOILER – THINGS DON’T ALWAYS WORK OUT. (But mainly they do). (But sometimes they don’t).
5. Do you have a favourite writing place?
No – I’m so lazy, that wherever I’m sitting down is my favourite place. And you mainly have to be sitting down to write, as it’s a real trip hazard if you’re trying to walk and type on a laptop. Although, it is extra lovely to be able to see nice things out of the window, and one weekend by the sea in a little village in Cornwall was probably my absolute favourite. Don’t know how much writing I got done though, as I was too busy trying to look intelligent, and literary, while gazing out of the window.
6. What made you want to write for a YA audience?
Guess that comes back to question two. Because it’s the audience that I think is funniest, and most interesting. And YA books are my favourite. You’ve got to write something that you’d want to read, as you’re going to read it more than anything else in your whole life (other than adverts on the tube).
7. What were your own favourite books to read as a teenager?
Anything by Judy Blume. Anything with a horse in it. If Judy Blume had written about horses falling in love, I would have been in heaven. I also got really into my parents’ murder mystery books (BACK ON THE DEATH THING AGAIN). And Diana Wynne Jones was incredible. I think variety is an amazing thing.
8. Finally, what have been your own super awkward moments?
How long have you got?
I’m also really happy you haven’t added ‘as a teenager’ as I’m still racking them up now. Obvs I’m going to pretend the ones in the book are totally fictional, and I definitely didn’t text a boy a liked with a message meant for my friend, describing said boy as ‘world’s fittest man’. (If he’s reading this now, I would like to claim in my defence, that it was just extra early research for my book, not actually a mortifying mistake). A couple of weeks ago I stayed in a posh hotel – after a mini-camping trip. While one of the staff was giving me side-eye, I tried to wiggle something out of my suitcase, but accidently flicked a slug on the wall. It must have been wanting to swap campsite life, for a turndown service. Or there’s the time I knocked myself out walking into a wall (I got two weeks off school – actually quite a result). Or had someone (an actual stranger) on a packed tube point out I’d got my top on inside out. Or the time I accidentally threw three tampons out of my bag and into the lap of an old man. The list is too endless. Which is why it’s never fun taking life too seriously. As you’re only ever a second away from choking on a Pringle.
Huge thank you to Beth for the awesome answers! Super Awkward is available to buy now, and you can read my thoughts here. If you've missed any of the stops of the tour, but sure to check out the blogs that have taken part!
Q&A: Beth Garrod, Author of ‘All The Jingle Ladies’
Elise Dumpleton·Writers Corner·October 1, 2024·4 min read
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We chat with author Beth Garrod about her latest release All The Jingle Ladies, which is cosy YA holiday romcom, perfect for fans of Dash & Lily and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.
Hi, Beth! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! Thanks for having me here ☺ I’m Beth – I live in London, and I’m a kids and YA author. You might guess from All The Jingle Ladies, but I’m big fan of Christmas (and Beyoncé tbf) and I love to stroll about frosty central London streets saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to strangers like I’m in a Richard Curtis film (except they mostly look confused by this display of city-friendliness, very much unlike in a Richard Curtis film). I normally put my tree up around mid-November – although one year despite love and care it didn’t survive in our tiny flat till Christmas Day, so we had to smuggle a covert replacement in at night so our neighbours didn’t think we were stockpiling a forest. I’m actually coming to New York this Christmas just to soak up all the festive-ness, and I cannot wait!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Well it was an accident. At Uni I studied science and coding, which led to a job at the BBC producing their digital content, which then became a job working on their website for teenagers. And that’s when I realised I loved writing, especially about those brilliant-fantastic-terrible younger years, and extra-especially if it was something that made me, or hopefully someone else as well, laugh. Just having a bit in the day where you can zone out of life, and be a little bit happier, is a really lovely thing. I wrote my first YA ‘Super Awkward’ all about being in your teens and trying (and failing) to figure out life. Now 14 books later I still feel like I’m learning more about writing every time I dive into a new project.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
The first book you ever remember reading: Plop The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark – Jill Tomlinson
The one that made you want to become an author: Queen Judy Blume – Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret
The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Really Good, Actually – Monica Heisey. A scene about a delivery order is still making me laugh now.
Your latest novel, All the Jingle Ladies, is out October 4th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Festive fish-(aka Elf)-out-of-water
What can readers expect?
A festive, funny teen read, that’s full of romance, but equally stuffed with friendship, eccentric families, mysterious American hotties, and themed sweaters. To be more specific, it’s about Molly Bell – a Christmas-hating British teen who wants to live a quiet life far (far!) away from her embarrassing attention-loving family. But Molly is plunged into a sleigh-load of Christmas drama when the mortifying family song her parents released when she was little – complete with her being a cutesy little elf – suddenly hits the big time. But with the tune snowballing into biggest song of the season, not helped by an unexpected encounter with hot boy who is at serious risk of melting her frosty heart, Molly begins to realise she has two options – learn to love her elf, or fall headlong into her biggest mistletoe misadventure yet.
Where did the inspiration for All the Jingle Ladies come from?
All the Jingle Ladies is my second Christmas book after Blame It On The Mistletoe, which is about two teens who swap lives in the US and UK. I had loads of fun writing BIOTM (even if my Spotify got very confused listening to so many Christmas tunes in July), so for my second festive book, I wanted to keep just as much Christmas in there, alongside lots of friendship and family themes– but this time take a Christmas-hating girl and see what happened when she was plunged into a glitzy A-list festive world, miles away from her normal life. I wanted it to feel very real life, but with those sprinkles of magic that Christmas can really create. And as I’d just spent some pretty magical time in a snowy London, Edinburgh, Liverpool, and my parents’ middle-of-nowhere but incredibly cute countryside village, I wanted to weave those locations in too.
See also
Ilana C Myer Author Interview
Q&A: Ilana C. Myer, Author of ‘The Poet King’
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I always love writing scenes with best friends, or eccentric families. So Molly’s mum and dad being full parsnip-costume wearing local celeb extroverts rocking the stage in their Brussel Shouts band, was really fun to write. Especially when I could throw a smart talking older sister, and worryingly horse-obsessed younger sister into the mix. And I loved Molly and her best friend’s trip to a snowy Edinburgh with two very different dads in tow.
What are three must-watches for the holiday season?
Elf
Nativity
Anything featuring Lindsay Lohan or Vanessa Hudgens
What’s next for you?
Well, I’m excited to have my first middle grade come out in America next year ‘The Unfortunate Wishes of Nelly Young’ and then I’m working on a couple of projects for a slightly different age group… we shall see!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
I’m just getting stuck into The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (‘You wait ages for The One . . . then 203 come along at once’ – what a tag line), for Christmas vibes I can’t wait for Only For The Holidays by Abiola Bello (Christmas, cute, funny – sounds like it has everything) and then next on my list is a book I’ve been dying to read for yonks, ‘Boy Like Me’ by Simon James Green.
Will you be picking up All The Jingle Ladies? Tell us in the comments below!
Blame It on the Mistletoe
Beth Garrod. Sourcebooks Fire, $10.99 paper (368p) ISBN 978-1-72824-897-4
Two 16-year-olds swap homes for Christmas in this slightly contrived but entertaining rom-com. Enrolling in an Instagram challenge to gain 15,000 followers first, American influencer Noelle "Elle" Miller wants to fly to the U.K. to build het following, suggesting a switch with one of her lucky followers. British, plan-loving Holly Judd, one of Elle's devotees, is usually a Christmas fanatic, but this year, everything's changing: her older sister is in Thailand, she's not over her exboyfriend, and her mother is selling their house in the charming village where Elle's mother grew up. In alternating chapters studded with texts and Elle's Instagram captions, the teens navigate new terrain post-switch: in Alpine Peaks, N.J., Holly explores Christmas excitement with Elle's enigmatic, handsome twin, Nick; in Little Marsh, England, Elle gets to know Holly's friends while fighting memories of trolls and betrayal from her defunct Instagram account. Garrod provides holiday festivities galore--pantomime, costume parties, Christmas jumpers, snow--as well as social media skullduggery, surprises, and secrets. If the characterization of the implied all-white cast isn't as deft as the plotting, the bow-wrapped ending will still appeal. Ages 13--up. (Nov.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Blame It on the Mistletoe." Publishers Weekly, vol. 268, no. 37, 13 Sept. 2021, p. 68. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A676353307/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=df433f69. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
Garrod, Beth BLAME IT ON THE MISTLETOE Sourcebooks Fire (Teen None) $10.99 11, 2 ISBN: 978-1-72824-897-4
Two social media influencers on either side of the Atlantic decide to switch places to boost followers--and learn some life lessons in the process.
Holly, a 16-year-old Brit, adores Christmas. She sends herself a card in advance every year and makes a 39-point Christmas-decorating list. But all the tinsel in the world won't improve her mood after a bad boyfriend breakup. Meanwhile, in Alpine Peaks, New Jersey, American Elle is working to increase the following of her new social media account, @OneElleOfATime, and helping her parents with their Christmas tree rental and decoration business while struggling with the stress of yet another move. A challenge from another influencer to take part in a race to be the first to get 15,000 new followers propels the girls to engage in a life swap over Christmas. Holly's and Elle's alternating first-person narratives are laugh-out-loud funny. The roller-coaster drama of their lives as they pursue this outrageous adventure while adapting to each other's cultures, dealing with the stress of finding material to attract followers to their accounts, and meeting cute boys will keep the pages turning. The constant British versus American wordplay threading the narrative will appeal to many and will introduce non-British readers to holiday traditions such as mince pies, Christmas jumpers (sweaters), and pantomime. All main characters present White.
A festive story that shows that in the end it's friends, not followers, who count. (Romance. 12-16)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Garrod, Beth: BLAME IT ON THE MISTLETOE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A677072869/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0e6f756c. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
Garrod, Beth THE INFLATABLES IN MISSION UN-POPPABLE Scholastic (Children's None) $6.99 7, 19 ISBN: 978-1-338-74899-4
Only very brave writers would create a character who's smarter than they are.
A brilliant character requires brilliant ideas, and, remarkably, this graphic novel has one ingenious twist after another. A balloon shaped like a cactus uses the air from a bouncy castle to clear away fumes of dangerous gas, and she uses melted popsicles to stall an escaping villain, an inflatable avocado. Cactus and her friends must prevent the avocado from taking over their water park. The plot, of course, is mostly an excuse for goofy jokes, most of which are puns. Some are good. Some are bad. Many are both. A balloon shaped like a watermelon says, "You really are one in a melon!" The black-and-white drawings look like they were inspired by clip art from the '90s, but, again, they're just an excuse for more jokes, like a book of dastardly plans with the title Dastardly Plans. Beyond the humor, it's impressive and, these days, sort of inspiring to find a story where victories are achieved by teamwork and intelligence. While the main characters are talking balloons, the human beings who do appear are diverse in appearance.
The stupid jokes only make this comic book more brilliant. (Graphic humor. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Garrod, Beth: THE INFLATABLES IN MISSION UN-POPPABLE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A708486754/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8fc3b539. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
Garrod, Beth ALL THE JINGLE LADIES Sourcebooks Fire (Teen None) $11.99 10, 1 ISBN: 9781728249001
In order to find herself, a British teenager must embrace the true spirit of Christmas.
Fifteen-year-old Molly Bell hates Christmas. Thanks to her parents' band, the Rocking Stockings (formerly known as the Brussel Shouts), Molly has spent most of her life avoiding her past as the adorable child star of the music video for their hit song, "Love Your Elf!" Things get more complicated when "Love Your Elf!" is chosen as the theme song forSleigh Another Day, this year's hot holiday rom-com. Molly tries to avoid being recognized as Annoying Green Christmas Elf in her new town (where she hoped to make a fresh start), plan a charity event, and be there for her struggling best friend. At the movie's London premiere, she meets an American boy called Kyle, who has also retreated from the hubbub to sit in a cluttered storage room. Their friendship quickly turns into butterflies, but they're both hiding something. In the end, Molly learns that she must truly embrace who she is before she can embrace anyone else. It's impossible not to root for the likable characters, particularly Molly, who transforms and grows through each challenge she faces. While the opening feels repetitive in places, the narrative, which celebrates self-acceptance and the power of friendship, picks up in pace as the interpersonal conflicts develop. Red-headed Molly presents white; in the cover art, Kyle appears Black.
A heartfelt, festive, and affirming romance.(Romance. 13-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Garrod, Beth: ALL THE JINGLE LADIES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Nov. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A813883707/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bd922c17. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
Wednesday, 26 October 2016
Book review: Super Awkward by Beth Garrod
I had the pleasure of meeting author Beth Garrod at a Scholastic blogger event earlier this year where she spoke about her then upcoming novel Super Awkward. Approaching it from the perspective of being a "super awkward author", she was absolutely hilarious and so needless to say I was super keen to get my hands on her book after that.
Super Awkward focuses on teenager Bella Fisher who has all the problems any other girl her age has – school, friends, boyfriends – with the added issue that she is super awkward and so she always ends up in the most embarrassing situations possible. This is especially evident when it comes to the boy part of the teen problems...
Of course Bella is wearing a giant arrow made out of cereal boxes (representing none other than One Direction) when she happens upon a hot boy. And it only goes downhill from there. Quite literally, when Bella falls on top of said boy. And that isn't even the worst thing that happens to her in the book, trust me.
The best part of this novel was Beth Garrod's hilarious writing style and the crazy situations she put her main protagonist in. This is one of those books that has a lol-per-page and if you're in the mood for something to cheer you up during these dark days, then Super Awkward can definitely help you with that.
However, while Beth's writing was fab, I found the storyline less interesting than I'd expected. Perhaps I'm too old to appreciate it fully (the protagonist is a teenager after all and I'm in my 30s, eek!) but I quickly got bored of her romance woes. Furthermore, a lot of Bella's actions, while landing her in funny situations, were pretty stupid on her part and they became quite predictable after a while.
That isn't to say that I didn't enjoy any it because I did really like Bella's friends and her sister Jo, but for the most part there wasn't too much substance to Bella's own storyline and I could take or leave the romance, of which there was a heavy focus within the book. The one exception was Bella's resolution within the previous to last chapter, which was inspired and cracked me up a lot. She really went up a notch in my estimation after that.
Super Awkward is super funny at times but also somewhat immature and superficial. If you love cheesy and predictable rom coms then you'll probably fall head over heels in love with Bella and Zac, but unfortunately it didn't quite work for me.