Today, along with Jennifer Banash, Alexa Young is visiting us. Alexa is the author of the Frememies series. The second book in this series, Faketastic, is released today. I can't wait to get my copy of it!
Enjoy!
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How FAKETASTIC Are You?
First, a big thank you to Hope for inviting me to be her guest-blogger on this, THE RELEASE DAY OF FAKETASTIC! Since the book comes out today, I figured I may as well talk a bit about what makes it such a phenomenal read. I mean, truly, if you DON’T read it, my guess is there will be a big, gaping hole in your life that no other book—nor anything else—can possibly fill. Or something. :-)
Okay, in all seriousness (!), I do want to talk about some of the deeper messages in this book because, well, let’s be honest: FRENEMIES (book one in the series) has gotten a bit of a reputation for being “light” and “fun” and “cute” (among other things). And while it IS all that, it’s so much more. For instance, in the first book, my fashion-obsessed eighth grade protagonists—Halley Brandon and Avalon Greene—struggle with the reality that they’re becoming different people who no longer have as much in common as they once did. As they grow apart, insecurities mount and that inevitably leads to all kinds of hurtful behavior.
Now, with FAKETASTIC, Halley and Avalon are friends again, but aren’t quite sure how to deal with some of the newer situations and opportunities coming up for them—opportunities that, if pursued, would most certainly hurt people close to them. It forces my girls to grapple with some pretty weighty questions: What kind of person lies to a friend? WHY do people lie to their friends? How do lies ultimately affect relationships?
I swear, the book doesn’t have some heavy moralistic message—that was definitely not the goal!—but getting my protagonists caught up in a web of deceit forced me to explore a lot of interesting ideas. Even as someone who considers herself to be honest to a FAULT, I’ve certainly been guilty of faking people out, sometimes successfully…and sometimes not so much. The interesting thing about Halley and Avalon—and me, and perhaps you, and most people—is that they tend to deceive the people closest to them with the best of intentions. They really feel like they’re doing the right thing—protecting people from the unbearable truth. And is that so wrong?
You tell me. And Hope. Just leave a comment telling us a few discrete details about a lie you’ve told, why you told it, and whether or not it backfired—and the one whose story we like best will receive a signed copy of FAKETASTIC. Of course, nobody’s going to stop you from making something up just to enter. ;-) The cutoff date for comments will be this Friday, January 9, at 9pm Pacific time. May the most FAKETASTIC person win!
XO
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Don't want to leave your contest entry in the comments? E-mail it to me at hopesblog@hotmail.com and I will make sure Alexa sees it too, as we'll be picking the contest winner together. :)
Thanks so much, Alexa!
hope.
14 comments:
Hi Alexa (and Hope)!!! Congrats on the FAKETASTIC release day!
Hmmm, okay, a lie I told. This one may seem really silly, but at the time it felt like total rebellion.
When I was in high school, my parents were ... not strict so much as always worried about my whereabouts (the results of an only child who tried to walk home through downtown Montreal when she was five, I would imagine). They always wanted me to call when I got somewhere (which I always forgot) or when I left somewhere (which I hated doing) or when I did anything. (Remember, this was *before* cell phones, so this was a pain.)
Well, one year my tennis team had a sleepover party and we decided to go toilet paper the coach's house. My parents specifically told me to call if we went anywhere ... and I DIDN'T! (omg, I know) The next day, I told them we'd stayed in all night.
All right, flog me with the boringness of my little white lie.
Hugs,
TLC
That sounds fantastic
Great guest blog. I think Frenemies was fun AND funny, but it did have a lot of meaning behind things.
-Lauren
great guest blog! I haven't read this series but it sounds like it would be really good.
Congrats on the release date!
A lie I told..hmm...
Ok, some time ago, I had a huge project to do. I wasn't able to finish it so I didn't turn it. On my report card I got a failing grade. I didn't want to tell my parents that I slacked off and didn't do a project so I made up a lie. I told them that the grade was wrong and that the teacher messed up my report card. I also told them that it was their fault for giving me chores to do and not giving me enough time to study. Well they believe me and I didn't have to do chores for a month (which was pretty good!) but I did have a failing grade (which sucked).
I am 100% cheating, I know, but I did make this vlog about a lie I told. It was originally for Linda Gerber, and I can't hide that fact. But here it is now, and I give it to you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UXUhP2jHRs&feature=channel_page
So excited to read FAKETASTIC-I loved FRENEMIES! Alexa is awesome!
Reading this made me ten times excited to read the new Frenemies book!
I totally understand and get Frenemies better now. Thanks for the mini explanation.
I try not to lie, unless it causes me to spare someone's feelings. So I guess then that kinda makes it okay to lie, right? lol
My sister did made my lie to my dad on a SUNDAY. My dad was already at church so he called the house to find out if we had left yet. My sister told me to tell him yes, just so we wouldn't get yelled at. Truth was, our brother had just gotten out of the shower and we were far from haven left yet. I felt bad for quite a while afterward.
=)
TruBlu
haha It actually took me awhile to think of a good lie to share. So here it is...
I've always been kind of petite growing up. Like, I was literally the shortest kid in my grade at school and even now, my own little sister and cousins are taller than me. Well, when I was younger, my parents would take advantage of that fact and when I surpassed the children's age in restaurant (buffets and such), we would pretend that I was a few years younger than I actually was. So... if the restaurant says that children are 10 and under... even when I was 12 years old, I could pass for a kid my sister's age. I don't think we were ever caught because kids don't have id to prove otherwise but obviously, eventually I couldn't do that anymore. =)
Great post! A lie? Now let me go eat my dinner and come back after I think about it...
Okay, I really can't think of anything big. The last thing I remembered I lied about is this wallet my friend got. I HATED it. It was black and had green stars. I guess in a way it was cute but I know for sure I didn't like it on bit.
So when my friend asked for my opinion, I meekly went, "Uh-huh, it's cute..." And quickly moved onto the next topic.
...Yes, this is the best I come up with.
Congratz on the release. =D
My parents have done what Carmen Alexis did, but that's not the biggest lie I made.
The biggest lie I made was lying that I never had homework. Everyday my mom would ask me if I had homework and I would say, "Oh my teacher is really lazy so I don't have homework." We turned in homeowrk in my class by putting it in a box. From what I see, my teacher NEVER suspected that I didn't do my homework. On the last week of school, I was watching TV, when my mom asked me if I did my homework...And well...I think I felt so guilty, that I said I forgot to do it. I had to stay up to do it. I only finished half of it. When I turned it in, I put it in the back of the pile. When she picks up the pile, everybody was like,"OOOHHH! Someone didn't do there homework!" She checked the name and well, it was my paper....She gave me the evil look. In truth, I've never liked her either....On the last day of school, she gave me a hug that I thought would have killed me and a big, sloppy kiss on my cheek...
But the funny thing is that my mom convinced her to put me in this class for 'gifted' students. As in they learn in a different way and the classes are much harder.
That was my biggest lie ever. It sort of back fired, but then, it totally changed my life. Irony...
I don't really tell lies... well, it's sort of an OCDish thing. My trademark is lying without really lying. If you are good at this, it can get you out of some sticky situations... like a few of my own involving Christmas or birthday gifts and school assignments. It's all about saying something true about a situation that will throw off the asker of a question and keep them from learning what you don't want them to know. I've never been caught at this, as far as I can remember. One time I can remember went a bit like this:
Family Member: I saw you had a bla bla bla in your room. Is it a present for me? (oops)
Me: I got that present for bla bla bla. (True, but I then decided to give it to her.)
Family Member: Oh. *looks disappointed*
Me: *laughs inside*
That was a very low risk situation... but I've seen worse and survived. Like the time I told a teacher that I had computer trouble when I couldn't finish an essay by a deadline, even when it didn't happen when I was working on the essay. Err... stuff like that makes me feel sort of guilty, so I usually avoid that sort of "lie".
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