LOATHING LOLA Review – GOOD READING Magazine

Hey everyone,

Just a quick hello – have had some problems with the site which are now completely sorted. I’m M.I.A. at the mo, uni assessments taking up waaaay too much of my time. I’ve got some exciting updates coming next week though. I actually don’t, but I figure, you know, if I say I do, I’ll feel pressured into making some exciting updates.

In the meantime, the September issue of GOOD READING Magazine has a 4-star review of Loathing Lola in it. Check it out at your local newsagency, it’s the one with the skull on the cover. There’s a shorter version online right HERE.

Talk soon,
William

‘Wunderkid Wows’ – TheBlurb.com.au

Q&A from The Blurb: HERE

Character status after reading article:
Ego: +1
Modesty: -1

LOATHING LOLA is Un-Australian

This is just hilarious.

Okay, so Loathing Lola’s gotten some pretty great reviews in print (I got a 4-star review in Good Reading Magazine’s September issue, apparently, I haven’t seen it yet), and online, reader reviews have ranged from ‘horrifically cruel’ to ‘unbelievably congratulatory’.

I’ve got a confession to make… I really, really enjoy the cruel ones. One of the big things that has really, REALLY pissed people off is me saying ‘bangs’ and not ‘fringe’ a whole two times in the novel. I know what you’re thinking. The bastard. Forget ‘bangs’ sounds a lot funnier than ‘fringe’, forget it being more vibrant and youth-y, forget it’s used by a large number of kids living in Australia… it’s a direct attack on our national identity, proof that American cultural imperialism is still rife. It’s the book brought to you by Coca-Cola and McDonalds…

Now, it’s all so clear to me… I need to be more true to the Australian identity. I mean, I went a whole 70,000-odd word novel without even so much as a ‘G’day’… what was I thinking? More fair-dinkum Aussie battler, less words kids could’ve picked up watching American TV programming (I mean… who watches American TV shows? McLeod’s Daughters is Must-Watch, Event TV). I can see it now, the 2009 release of the amazingly Australian, 100% ‘bang’-free Courtney Marlow and the Koala of Doom.

Sarcasm aside… why are we so afraid of one word? Is our Australian culture so fragile that two mentions of ‘bangs’ in a Young Adult novel threatens to destroy it? Isn’t the Australian culture just an amalgamation of other cultures anyway?

LOATHING LOLA Review – State Library of Victoria

The State Library of Victoria’s Centre for Youth Literature publishes a newsletter three times a year. It covers their activities, plus interviews, articles on youth literature and reviews of wide range of Australian and international books. The publication is 24 A4 pages. Newsletter subscription costs $30 per year. Inquiries to youthlit@slv.vic.gov.au.

Ad over.

I’m featured in the Centre’s latest newsletter, No. 2 for 2008 – a 500-word Q&A, and they’ve also printed a review of Loathing Lola. Here it is:

LOATHING LOLA
William Kostakis Pan Macmillan
The eponymous Lola is the new stepmother of Courtney Marlow, a teenage girl caught in the glare of the television cameras. Courtney has just signed on to be in a reality television show. Courtney signs on in the belief that she can make a difference and show that teenagers are not the bubble-heads that tabloid television so often makes them out to be. All fine and noble, but the ‘reality’ of reality television is often very different, and good intentions don’t survive there. William Kostakis has a deadly ear for teenage voices and humour; not surprising, really, as he only recently left high school. Loathing Lola is a polished novel about true friends, family and the weird, weird ways of the big wide world. Oh, and it’s also extremely funny. Mike Shuttleworth

The LOATHING LOLA Reader Reviews Continue…

Here are all of the Loathing Lola reader reviews posted this week on Inside A Dog. Hope you’re all having a great weekend.

Guvna, 17, kicks things off with some positivity *can’t roll eyes far enough*

This book is about exploring the already well-explored idea of reality TV.

The best thing about this book is it’s only short.

I didn’t like the way the characters felt so forced and scripted. Dialogue was reminiscent of Dawson’s Creek, The OC, and the Gilmore Girls. The concept of exploring reality TV is overdone already and Loathing Lola gives us nothing new or fresh when it comes to it. The characters were extremely hard to relate to and care about – the way the humour was forced alienated me from them

You might like this book if you also enjoyed Gossip Girl.

A good place to read this book would be Drunk.

If this book had a soundtrack, it would be Miley Cyrus.

Thanks… I guess. Next up, Paper Dress Girl, 17:

This book is about Courtney Marlow, the teenage girl who is selected for the TV show Real Teens, and who eventually realises that reality TV isn’t all that real.

The best thing about this book is the authenticity of teenage slang and the biting wit

I didn’t like the way it had to end…

You might like this book if you also enjoyed reading well written books that don’t undermine the world and ways of teenagers

A good place to read this book would be anywhere people can hack your continual bursts of laughter

If this book had a soundtrack, it would be the song The Remedy by Jason Mraz, cause if you gots the poison this book’s the remedy.

Things keep rolling with Regan, 15:

This book is about A girl named Courtney Marlow, who feels obliged to continue her pursuit to star on the new reality TV show, Real Teens, in light of the death of a close friend. She is forced to continue the show because of financial troubles.

The best thing about this book is The development of not only the main character, but the friends surrounding her.

I didn’t like the way The book had a back cover, instead of continuing on into forever.

You might like this book if you also enjoyed Anything that made you feel sad when you finished it, because it was over.

A good place to read this book would be Anywhere, as long as you have a free hand to turn the pages.

If this book had a soundtrack, it would be ”Riot” by Paramore, because this book is one!

SKY News Interview

Look! William! T.V.!

It’s like my nose is trying to eat my face.

For those of you over 18: Drinking game! Every time I finish an answer with ‘Umm yeah, that’s it,’ or I swing my head animatedly for absolutely no reason, take a swig.

For those of you under 18: Drinking is wrong. And immoral. God and Santa are watching. They know when you do it. They’re not happy.

Okay, so I just paid $11…

… to read a review of Loathing Lola on the online version of The Examiner. It came up on Google, then said I needed credits to view it, and you can only buy credits in lots of 1000s, so I did. $11. For a plot summary and a two-word review. But it was an awesome plot summary and review. In fact, I reckon the plot summary’s better than my blurb, so I’m pretty stoked .

If you have $11 you don’t want, sign up and check it out HERE.

LOATHING LOLA Promo Banners

Not content with just taking your sweet, sweet money in exchange for copies of my new book, Loathing Lola, I want you all to start flogging it off to unsuspecting friends on MySpace and forums! Below are some banners. If you feel like contributing to a noble, noble cause (i.e. my unbridled success), you can post them on your site / signature.

Thanks heaps.

Jack Heath MONEY RUN Review

I know what you’re thinking.

I interviewed Jack Heath for this blog a few weeks ago, I seem pretty chummy with Jack Heath, I’m published by the same publisher as Jack Heath, I advertise his latest book on my website, and now I’m writing a review of that same book… Surely, it’s gunna be biased.

Well, yes and no.

I met up with Jack last week for a few games of pool at Star Bar (don’t judge me… the drinks are cheap). So, just as I sank the 8-ball (mid-game, mind you, so it’s nothing to cheer about), we started talking about our respective books. He said he was reading Loathing Lola and was enjoying it so far. Cut to William realising he hadn’t made the slightest effort to get a copy of Money Run yet. Jack waits for a reply. We both stare blankly at each other. I fudge it and say that I haven’t read Money Run yet, but plan to, and will make sure I write a review about it on my blog – which is growing alarmingly popular, mind you.

‘It’s probably not your sort of book,’ he warns, glancing down at the pool table. ‘You sunk the 8.’

So, I decided I’d make a deal with him. I’d head out and grab a copy of Money Run. If I liked it, I’d post a review. If I hated it, I’d put it on Ebay, give it to someone I disliked for their birthday, or burnt it – whichever appealed to me more at the time – and instead of posting a review on my blog, I’d write about our games of pool, the marvellous displays of uncoordination they were. So, I’d be being biased, in a way.

Here goes.

JACK, WILL AND THEIR AMAZING POOL ADVENTURE

So, we met on Town Hall steps around ten o’clock at night and headed down George Street… Kidding.

I really enjoyed Money Run. Honest. It’s well-written, engaging, the characters are interesting, and most importantly, he’s got me itching to read more of his work, and more in the series, if he does choose to expand it beyond the one book. I was hooked from the word GO, and the book is non-stop from around page 50. There’s the right mix of humour, suspense, intrigue, action and that character-driven stuff your English teacher is always going on about. Summarising the plot doesn’t do it justice, so I won’t. Just remember: it all takes place on one night. There’s a teenage thief, a (few) hired assassin(s), a billionaire, and a lot of money. And it rocks.

Now, one of the characters gave me the absolute shits, and I picked a few of the twists – that’s usually enough for me to start my Ebay / birthday present / burning routine, but there’s something about the way Jack tells this story and keeps you hooked that makes you forget any of the shortcomings. He just gets so much right that the other stuff just makes you feel like you’re nit-picking. It’s part-24, part-Alias, all-kickass, and a highly recommended read. I went into Money Run with my cynical cap on, I mean, the author had told me it wasn’t my sort of book, and he’s 100% right. Nothing about the blurb or his author bio would make me even consider flicking through it in a store let alone purchasing it… but it’s a testament to the quality of Money Run that despite that, not only did I not want it to end, I now want to go back and dive into Jack’s back-catalogue, and maybe, just maybe, change my taste in books…

Talk soon.

Signed copies of LOATHING LOLA

If you’re in Sydney and you want to buy a signed copy of Loathing Lola, they’re available at Kinokuniya Book Store (Level 2, The Galleries Victoria – just opposite the QVB and Town Hall), and at Dymocks George St.

Talk soon.