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WORK TITLE: Girls Like Me
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): St. Vil, Lola
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.lolastvil.com/
CITY: Los Angeles
STATE: CA
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://www.lolastvil.com/p/about-lola.html * http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2376575/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.:
n 2016014094
LCCN Permalink:
https://lccn.loc.gov/n2016014094
HEADING:
StVil, Lola
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__ |a DLC |b eng |e rda |c DLC
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1_ |a StVil, Lola
670
__ |a Girls like me, 2016: |b ECIP t.p. (written by Lola StVil)
PERSONAL
Born 1978, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
EDUCATION:Attended Shimer College, 1995-96; Columbia College, B.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and actress. Screenplay writer and playwright.
AWARDS:NAACP award, for The Bones of Lesser Men.
WRITINGS
Author of stage plays, including The Bones of Lesser Men; has contributed writings to Princeton University, CBS, and ABC.
Also writer of two YA series, The Noru and Guardians.
SIDELIGHTS
Originally from the island of Haiti, Lola StVil settled in the United States at a young age. She has built a writing career predominantly through stage and screen, having created scripts for movies and theater. One of her stage productions, The Bones of Lesser Men, received an award from the NAACP. LA Weekly, Variety, and the Los Angeles Times have given her work additional acclaim. Alongside her theater and film work, StVil has penned several novels, including the YA series “Guardians.”
Girls like Me, StVil’s 2016 novel, follows the life of Shay Summers, a teenage girl who is talented but troubled. Shay lost her father a year prior to the story’s events and now lives with her stepmother, Kara. When they are not in the midst of heavy bereavement, they are on strained terms with each other. Shay is overweight, and Kara refuses to accept her size, trying to sway Shay into changing her emotionally driven eating habits and losing some weight. Shay resents Kara’s sentiments, which form just one portion of the dark cloud hanging over her life. Shay must also contend with Kelly, a popular mean girl at her school whose shining exterior Shay sees through completely. Shay manages to find joy in the form of her poetry—the medium through which most of the book is narrated—as well as an enigmatic online love interest, with whom she communicates through instant messaging, and her close friends Dash and Boots. In the midst of Shay’s problems, Dash and Boots are facing a few of their own. Boots is fighting an aggressive illness, and Dash wants his family to accept his sexuality. Alongside her shadowy admirer, Shay also has feelings for Blake, a popular boy who happens to be involved with Kelly. Twists and turns wind through the novel, and as things begin to take a turn for the worse for Shay on multiple fronts, she must figure out how to navigate everything and remold how she views herself and her world.
“This is an excellent rendition of an old plot trope, and readers will find this fast read thoroughly authentic and enjoyable,” remarked Lauri J. Vaughan, a contributor to Voice of Youth Advocates. In an issue of Booklist, Maggie Reagan said of Shay that “readers will find it impossible not to root for her as she learns to accept herself.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer commented: “Even if the popular crowd at Shay’s school doesn’t appreciate her wit, compassion, and courage, readers will.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, September 15, 2016, Maggie Reagan, review of Girls like Me, p. 61.
Publishers Weekly, August 15, 2016, review of Girls like Me, p. 74.
Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 2016, Lauri J. Vaughan and Andrew Rule, reviews of Girls like Me, p. 70.
ONLINE
Fantastic Fiction, https://www.fantasticfiction.com/ (May 31, 2017), author profile.
Library Thing, https://www.librarything.com/ (May 31, 2017), author profile.
Lola StVil Home Page, http://www.lolastvil.com (May 31, 2017).
Teenreads, http://www.teenreads.com/ (May 31, 2017), author profile.
Lola was seven when she first came to this country from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She attended Columbia College in Chicago, where her main focus was creative writing. In addition to plays, she also writes screenplays and short stories.
She has been commissioned to write for ABC, CBS and Princeton University. She won the NAACP award for her play "The Bones of Lesser Men". In addition to being nominated for LA Weekly awards. Her work has also received positive reviews from The LA Times, Variety and LA Weekly. Guardians: The Girl was her first novel. Lola recently became A New York times and USA today Best selling Author.
Lola St.Vil is an actress and writer, known for Norbit (2007), Dance Flick (2009) and The Guardians.
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brief description • profiles • biography • references
Lola St. Vil
Full name
Yves Lola St. Vil
Alternative names
Lola St. Vil
Presence at Shimer
1995–1996
BA
Columbia College Chicago
Role(s)
Mount Carroll period alum
Yves Lola St. Vil was a student at Shimer College in the Waukegan period, listed with the class year of 1999.
ProfiledEdit
on Amazon
on Goodreads
on Librarything
on Openlibrary
on IMDB
on BlogTalkRadio
Biography
Brief descriptionEdit
This brief description is released under the CC0 copyright waiver.
Lola St. Vil (b. 1978) is an author, playwright and actress based on California. She is the author of the Guardians series of young adult novels. A play by St. Vil, The Bones of Lesser Men, won the NAACP award for Best Playwright in 2009. Born in Haiti and raised in Brooklyn, St. Vil studied at Shimer College and Columbia College Chicago. Organizations that have commissioned her work include Princeton University, ABC, and CBS. (from Shimer College Wiki)
WorksEdit
Guardians: The Girl
Guardians: The Turn
Guardians: The Fallout
ReferencesEdit
The above article is a biography of a living Shimerian, and is therefore governed by the Wikia and Shimer College Wiki policies on biographies of living people. All information should be verifiable from public sources. The article must not be defamatory or invasive of privacy. Please feel free to improve this page.
This page is part of the Shimer College Wiki, an independent documentation project. Shimer College, the Great Books college of Chicago, is not responsible for its content.
Works by Lola St. Vil
The Girl 142 copies, 3 reviews
The Paranormal 13 86 copies, 1 review
The Fallout 49 copies
Blue Rose 33 copies
Girls Like Me 31 copies, 2 reviews
The Lyris 16 copies
The Triplex 15 copies
The Shoma 14 copies
Urban Mythic: Thirteen Novels of Adventure and Romance, featuring Norse… 13 copies
The Noru 2 : The Last Akon (The Noru Series, Book 2) 13 copies
The Quo 12 copies
The Turn 10 copies
The Nycren 7 copies
Fall of the Chosen 7 copies
Guardians: Short Stories From Book 1 (Guardians series) 5 copies
When Angels Break 4 copies
Hidden Worlds 3 copies
Short Stories From Book 5 (Guardians #5.5) 1 copy
Noru 6: Rise of the Alago (The Noru) (Volume 6) 1 copy
Guardians: The Nycren (Volume 8) 1 copy
Guardians: The Nycren (Guardians, #6 part 2 of 2) 1 copy
Guardians: The Shoma (Guardians, #6 part 1 of 2) 1 copy
The Lyris (Guardians, #5 part 2 of 2) 1 copy
Guardians: Short Stories From Book 5 (Guardians series) 1 copy
organize | filterAlso by Lola St. Vil
Kiss of Christmas Magic: 20 Paranormal Holiday Tales of Werewolves,… 14 copie
Lola StVil
Lola StVil is a Haitian born writer and actress. She lives in Hollywood and welcomes online interaction with readers.
Lola was seven when she first came to this country from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She attended Columbia College in Chicago, where her main focus was creative writing. In addition to plays, she also writes screenplays and short stories.
She has been commissioned to write for ABC, CBS and Princeton University. She won the NAACP award for her play "The Bones of Lesser Men". In addition to being nominated for LA Weekly awards. Her work has also received positive reviews from The LA Times, Variety and LA Weekly.
Series
Guardians
1. The Girl (2012)
2. The Fallout (2012)
3. The Turn (2012)
4. The Triplex (2012)
5. The Quo (2013)
5. The Lyris (2013)
6. The Shoma (2013)
6. The Nycren (2014)
Guardians: Short Stories From Book 1 (2013)
Guardians: Short Stories From Book 5 (2013)
Dangerous Distractions (2016)
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Noru
1. Blue Rose (2014)
2. The Last Akon (2014)
3. Fall Of The Chosen (2015)
4. When Angels Break (2015)
5. Ways Of The Wicked (2015)
6. Rise Of The Alago (2016)
7. Rage Of Angels (2016)
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Novels
Girls Like Me (2016)
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Lola StVil
Lola StVil was seven when she first came to the US from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She attended Columbia College in Chicago, where her main focus was creative writing. She is the author of the best-selling Guardians series and the Noru series.
Lola StVil
Books by Lola StVil
Girls Like Me
by Lola StVil - Fiction
Fifteen-year-old Shay Summers is trying to cope with the death of her father, being overweight, and threats from a girl bully in school. When she falls in love with Blake, a mysterious boy online, insecure Shay doesn't want to tell him who she is. But with the help of her two best friends, as well as an assist by Kermit and Miss Piggy, ultimately Shay and Blake’s love prevails.
5/9/17, 3)13 PM
Print Marked Items
StVil, Lola. Girls Like Me
Lauri J. Vaughan and Andrew Rule
Voice of Youth Advocates.
39.4 (Oct. 2016): p70. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2016 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
4Q * 5P * J * S (a)
StVil, Lola. Girls Like Me. Hougton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. 320p. $17.99. 978-0-54470674-3.
Shay Summers is a fifteen-year-old poet living on the fringe. She harbors a healthy disdain for almost everyone but reserves the most ire for perfect but hateful Kelly Stokes, who is, according to Shay, "what happens when Beauty sleeps with Empty." The remainder of her anger is directed at Kara, the woman her much beloved father married shortly before his tragic death. Kara's mission to make Shay thin seems like the only thing left in the house, besides the grief that continues to swallow them a year later. Brighter spots in Shay's life include fellow fringe denizens Boots and Dash, her English class, and super-hot Blake Harrison. Shay's quick wit and sharp prose has happily entangled her in an ongoing exchange of pithy, anonymous text messages that ultimately turn romantic. When Shay discovers Blake is the mysterious texter, the decision to reveal her identity to him sets Shay in Kelly's line of fire and tests Blake's loyalty. Simultaneously, Boots's poor health deteriorates, Dash's father rejects his son's homosexuality, and tensions with Kara escalate.
StVil's novel is told alternatively in poetry and text messages. Shay's voice is deeply intimate. The reader feels as if she's peering over Shay's shoulder as she scribbles emotions on notebook paper in a class she cannot help but ignore. It comes at an almost hypnotic clip that hooks the reader by the end of page two. The text exchanges with Blake and Shay's friends take on the attributes of the poetry in which they are embedded. StVil has created distinctive voices for even her minor characters. This is an excellent rendition of an old plot trope, and readers will find this fast read thoroughly authentic and enjoyable.
--Lauri J. Vaughan.
Readers have seen all the characters that populate this novel's subplots before: the girl dying of cancer, the gay best friend, the seemingly unattainable love interest, the wicked stepmother. StVil injects a bit more life into these well- worn storylines with her reliable humor, but her decision to relay the entire novel in a series of short, poem-like bursts constricts the plot rather than frees it. In spite of occasional moments of endearing wit and genuineness, this novel is unlikely to lure many readers away from other books in the genre. 3Q, 2R
--Andrew Rule, Teen Reviewer.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Vaughan, Lauri J., and Andrew Rule. "StVil, Lola. Girls Like Me." Voice of Youth Advocates, Oct. 2016, p. 70.
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PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA467831134&it=r&asid=6a045028708f19a26527c908fae3f799 Accessed 9 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A467831134
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Girls like Me
Maggie Reagan
Booklist.
113.2 (Sept. 15, 2016): p61. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Girls like Me. By Lola StVil. Oct. 2016. 320p. HMH, $17.99 (9780544706743). Gr. 8-11.
Shay Summers, 15, has been dealt a rough hand. She's still reeling from the sudden death of her father and struggling to cohabitate with the stepmother she barely knows. She has two terrific friends, but things are difficult there as well: Dash, who's gay, longs for the acceptance of his tough father, while Boots has a brain tumor that shows no signs of going away. Add to this mix Kelly, the girl who has tormented Shay for years for her weight. Then Shay strikes up an online flirtation with a boy in a local chat room. He wants to meet, but Shay's been bullied by the popular crowd her whole life and knows the chubby girl never gets the guy. Written in verse and interspersed with notes, texts, and chat- room transcripts, Shay's stream-of-consciousness recollections are occasionally difficult to follow, but her clever, matter-of-fact voice soars, and readers will find it impossible not to root for her as she learns to accept herself and believe that other people can do the same.--Maggie Reagan
Reagan, Maggie
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Reagan, Maggie. "Girls like Me." Booklist, 15 Sept. 2016, p. 61. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA464980981&it=r&asid=15ce77f4dbb21894905f2de180deadd3. Accessed 9 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A464980981
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Girls Like Me
Publishers Weekly.
263.33 (Aug. 15, 2016): p74. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Girls Like Me
Lola StVil. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $17.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-544-70674-3
Using verse and a series of text messages, StVil, author of the self-published Guardians and Noru series, tells the saga of a tormented teen who unexpectedly finds romance. High school junior Shay uses food to fill the hole-left by her father's death ("Finally alone, I call on my friends;/ Breakfast burrito. Banana cream pie. Butter"). She also uses it to absorb the painful taunts she receives at school for being fat and the constant nagging from her stepmother to eat more healthfully. Luckily, Shay has two terrific friends and fellow outcasts who make school almost bearable. Then Shay finds another source of comfort: chat-room conversations with an anonymous boy, who gets her sense of humor and thinks she's pretty special. When Shay finds out her confidante is popular Blake Harrison from school, who is dating her nemesis, she panics. This funny, heart-wrenching novel celebrates those who don't fit into society's mold and the people who love them as they are. Even if the popular crowd at Shay's school doesn't appreciate her wit, compassion, and courage, readers will. Ages 12--up. Agent: Adrienne Rosado, Nancy Yost Literary. (Oct.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Girls Like Me." Publishers Weekly, 15 Aug. 2016, p. 74. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA461444615&it=r&asid=a5a20c8479da8ecc47a57b00a57842f6. Accessed 9 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A461444615
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