Can you really be friends with your ex? Authors Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison are proof positive that it can be done. Former high school sweethearts and current best friends, Ellen and Ivison have co-created their debut YA novel A TOTALLY AWKWARD LOVE STORY a laugh-out-loud, witty, and sexy novel that features a budding as well as semi-floundering romance that is partially inspired by their own relationship. Despite countless moments where they are utterly smitten with one another, Hannah and Sam find themselves in a number of misunderstandings that veer them off course and into tremendously awkward territory. This raucously funny love story comes alive, with Tom writing Sam’s chapters and Lucy writing Hannah’s.
The summer before college
Hannah is finally going to find The One. Then again, meeting him in the
master bathroom of a house party--definitely not romantic. But for five
perfect minutes, she's found him. She just
wishes she caught his name, because "Toilet Boy Cinderella" really
lacks sex appeal. Sam is over the moon that he met this strange and
hilarious girl at a house party. Of course, with his luck, it couldn't
last--without knowing her name, he'll probably never
see her again, and remain a girlfriendless moony-eyed virgin. Forever.
What follows is a summer hell-bent on keeping Sam and Hannah
apart. For two people so clearly destined for one another, they sure have a lot of trouble even getting together.
Filled with madcap, hilarious mishaps, and deep romance,
A TOTALLY AWKWARD LOVE STORY will have teens and adults laughing-out-loud as they commiserate with Sam and Hannah, and remember their own awkward moments.
Sounds pretty awesome, right?!?
I got a chance to ask the authors Tom and Lucy:
What are your favorite comedies - movies, TV and
books - along the vein of your novel?
Their answers:
TOM:
TV: There's a British series called The Inbetweeners that was a big
influence on me in terms of writing the male characters in A TOTALLY AWKWARD
LOVE STORY. The Inbetweeners is full
of teen awkwardness and sexual mishaps and general hilarity - it's about four
teenage boys trying to get girlfriends/have sex/not fail their exams/not get
bullied at school. It's brilliant!
BOOK: The book I most had in mind when
we were writing A TOTALLY AWKWARD LOVE STORY was probably The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend. If you haven't
read this novel - do it immediately! It's a brilliant British book about a
nerdy, insecure 13-14-year-old who is struggling with all types of frustration
- emotional, sexual, creative - and all the horrifically awkward scrapes he
gets himself into. It's basically the Awkward Teen Comedy Bible, as far as I'm
concerned.
MOVIE: I am going for Dazed and Confused as the movie (even
though it's maybe not STRICTLY a comedy). It's one of my favorite films and
there are tons of funny bits in it. But also it's about that weird period of
your late teens, where you're leaving school, and growing up and you have to
make all these big decisions about life, but you don't really feel ready. Dazed and Confused captures all that
perfectly - people feeling insecure about sex and friendship and drugs/alcohol
- but still trying desperately to show they're having a great time.
LUCY:
TV: I love Girls. I love how real it is. The characters are older than the
ones in A TOTALLY AWKWARD LOVE STORY but the realness is kind of the same. No
stone is left unturned in terms of cringe fest coming of age stuff. I love how
real the sex is and that is something we wanted to achieve in our book too.
BOOK: Louise Rennison passed away
earlier this year and it really hit me hard. She is a huge hero of mine. I think
the Angus, Thongs series is one of
the absolute best when it comes to portrayals of female friendships and what it
is actually like to be a teenager. I re-read them every summer and they still
make me howl with laughter.
MOVIE: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (this could also be my book
choice too!) It is much dreamier and literary than ATALS but it is about a girl
trying to figure out who she is, and Cassandra and Hannah remind me of each
other in that way.
Remember to go grab a copy of A Totally Awkward Love Story, bibliophiles!
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