Defending Zoella: 10 reasons not to hate on Zoe Sugg
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Version 0 of 1. This week there has been a lot of debate surrounding the success of make-up vlogger Zoe “Zoella” Sugg’s book Girl Online. The controversy largely stems from the fact that the book has been phenomenally successful (80,000 book sales in a week is unheard of in the UK book market) and that she hasn’t been upfront about how much help she was given by the writer Siobhan Curham. Zoella has had a lot of negative coverage in the media, and attacks online too. Yesterday she announced on Twitter she was taking a few days off internet because “it was clouding up her brain” – but later pointed out: The stuff press write about it literally ridiculous! I AM NOT QUITTING YOUTUBE. Yet again, twisting stuff to gain views. Sad. Now, I am not a massive fan of the type of vlog culture Zoella is a part of. It all seems a bit vacuous and bubbly and unthinkingly mainstream. Nor do I want a copy of Girl Online for Christmas. But I am a 39-year-old man so I might not be her target demographic. As someone who is passionate about books and who believes authenticity and quality is important, I really wonder why I feel instinctively prone to defend Zoella. So - I say, shuffling papers - I’ll try and be specific. Here is my case for the defence: Matt Haig is a writer for adults and children. His own novel for teenagers, Echo Boy, is available at the Guardian bookshop.His latest novel for grown-ups is The Humans. • What do you think about Zoe Sugg’s Girl Online? If you are a fan of Zoella’s blog do you really care if she had help writing her first novel? Or does it not really matter to you? We’d love to know either on Twitter @GdnChildrensBks or by email childrens.books@theguardian.com. Also member - get your reviews in! (If you are under 18, love books and not a member of the Guardian children’s and teens books site then - here’s how to join in). |