Book Review: Dear Dylan by Siobhan Curham
And here's another self-published title...
Author: Siobham Curham
Title: Dear Dylan
Genre: YA
Original Publisher: Self-published through AuthorHouse
Date of first publication: April 2010
Pages: 208
French rights are with Flammarion
“I’m so tired of feeling sad. And waiting for other people to make me happy and they don’t. And if no-one else is going to make you happy, well maybe you just have to do it for yourself?”
Fourteen year old Georgie Harris feels as if the summer holidays are over before they have even begun. Banned from going to the local drama workshop by her bully of a step-dad and her increasingly fragile mum, she is consigned to six long weeks of looking after her tooth-fairy obsessed kid sister. Sick of feeling like the outsider at home and at school, she starts emailing the one person she thinks might understand; Dylan Curtland, star of the popular soap opera Jessop Close. And when Dylan starts emailing back, Georgie finally feels a spark of hope. At last she has someone who really gets her, someone who really wants to help. But in the faceless world of email all is not as it seems…
This self-published has an interesting story. In 2009, Siobhan Curham was offered a two-book deal and turned it down. She self-published Dear Dylan in April 2010 and in November, it won the YoungMind Book Award. Earlier this month, it was acquired by Egmont as part of a two-book deal and it will be relaunch in July.
Dear Dylan is the last novel I read for my previous job and I consider myself very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to read it.
It's not often you encounter YA 'issue novels' that are a) engaging and b) not actually depressing. That is not to say that I don't enjoy a nice tragic story once in a while, but there seems to be this trend, especially in YA, of novels that are just a succession of tragic events with no light at the end of the tunnel. And these novels tend to leave me feeling hollow, depressed and wondering 'what's the point?' I'm not a partisan of the 'every YA/children titles should have a happy ending' argument, but if I can't find any purpose to the endless stream of suffering, something to take away with me as I turn the last page, then I'm not a happy reader. I'm glad to say that Dear Dylan is not one such story.
The novel's format is unusual and presents a great many challenges for any author. The story is entirely told as a series of emails, recounting the life of 13-year-old Georgie whose Summer holiday is just about to begin when she decides to write to her favorite TV actor, the young Dylan Curltand via his website. And well, she's quite surprised when she starts receiving responses to her fan mail. Oh go on now, admit it, the teenager in you has fantasized about this... more than once, I think it's safe to say...
I'm not going to say anymore than that because there's no point in ruining the surprise.
I admit I was a bit skeptic about the whole epistolary aspect. I didn't think it could work throughout the novel. Surely, at some point, the author would have to find a clever way around this or risk the overall pace of the novel slowing down and the whole thing collapsing on itself. Well, it didn't. The narration stayed strong till the very end.
The very element that endangers the whole exercise is also what makes the novel's original and so engaging in the first place. The main character's voice is a strong one and the words flow, accessible, light and funny. You can't help but tun the pages to know what's going to happen next, but it's also just to follow the voice.
And yet, the story is far from being light and carefree. Curham broaches some very delicate and important issues, similar to those raised by Jacqueline Wilson or Melvin Burgess. In fact, there seems to be a discrepancy between the level of writing, the age ground targeted, and the maturity of the issues raised. Again, this goes to prove that children's writing is not and should not all be all teletubbies and smiley faces. I think most kids are able to approach and comprehend delicate issues, it's all a question of presentation or representation. And I must say that in Dear Dylan, it's done brilliantly.
I would recommend this to those looking for something different in children's literature, something a bit heavier than you'd initially expect it to be, but whose package you just can't resist.
Author: Siobham Curham
Title: Dear Dylan
Genre: YA
Original Publisher: Self-published through AuthorHouse
Date of first publication: April 2010
Pages: 208
French rights are with Flammarion
“I’m so tired of feeling sad. And waiting for other people to make me happy and they don’t. And if no-one else is going to make you happy, well maybe you just have to do it for yourself?”
Fourteen year old Georgie Harris feels as if the summer holidays are over before they have even begun. Banned from going to the local drama workshop by her bully of a step-dad and her increasingly fragile mum, she is consigned to six long weeks of looking after her tooth-fairy obsessed kid sister. Sick of feeling like the outsider at home and at school, she starts emailing the one person she thinks might understand; Dylan Curtland, star of the popular soap opera Jessop Close. And when Dylan starts emailing back, Georgie finally feels a spark of hope. At last she has someone who really gets her, someone who really wants to help. But in the faceless world of email all is not as it seems…
This self-published has an interesting story. In 2009, Siobhan Curham was offered a two-book deal and turned it down. She self-published Dear Dylan in April 2010 and in November, it won the YoungMind Book Award. Earlier this month, it was acquired by Egmont as part of a two-book deal and it will be relaunch in July.
Dear Dylan is the last novel I read for my previous job and I consider myself very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to read it.
It's not often you encounter YA 'issue novels' that are a) engaging and b) not actually depressing. That is not to say that I don't enjoy a nice tragic story once in a while, but there seems to be this trend, especially in YA, of novels that are just a succession of tragic events with no light at the end of the tunnel. And these novels tend to leave me feeling hollow, depressed and wondering 'what's the point?' I'm not a partisan of the 'every YA/children titles should have a happy ending' argument, but if I can't find any purpose to the endless stream of suffering, something to take away with me as I turn the last page, then I'm not a happy reader. I'm glad to say that Dear Dylan is not one such story.
The novel's format is unusual and presents a great many challenges for any author. The story is entirely told as a series of emails, recounting the life of 13-year-old Georgie whose Summer holiday is just about to begin when she decides to write to her favorite TV actor, the young Dylan Curltand via his website. And well, she's quite surprised when she starts receiving responses to her fan mail. Oh go on now, admit it, the teenager in you has fantasized about this... more than once, I think it's safe to say...
I'm not going to say anymore than that because there's no point in ruining the surprise.
I admit I was a bit skeptic about the whole epistolary aspect. I didn't think it could work throughout the novel. Surely, at some point, the author would have to find a clever way around this or risk the overall pace of the novel slowing down and the whole thing collapsing on itself. Well, it didn't. The narration stayed strong till the very end.
The very element that endangers the whole exercise is also what makes the novel's original and so engaging in the first place. The main character's voice is a strong one and the words flow, accessible, light and funny. You can't help but tun the pages to know what's going to happen next, but it's also just to follow the voice.
And yet, the story is far from being light and carefree. Curham broaches some very delicate and important issues, similar to those raised by Jacqueline Wilson or Melvin Burgess. In fact, there seems to be a discrepancy between the level of writing, the age ground targeted, and the maturity of the issues raised. Again, this goes to prove that children's writing is not and should not all be all teletubbies and smiley faces. I think most kids are able to approach and comprehend delicate issues, it's all a question of presentation or representation. And I must say that in Dear Dylan, it's done brilliantly.
I would recommend this to those looking for something different in children's literature, something a bit heavier than you'd initially expect it to be, but whose package you just can't resist.