Siobhan Vivian
If you heard a scandalous story about a group of high school freshman girls would you be appalled? Judge them? Pity them? If you're Siobhan Vivian you would use it as inspiration for your next novel. At last year's ALAN convention Siobhan (pronounced shove-on) shared how during a school visit young adult author Siobhan met a student, whom she described as unique, who shared with her the story of an infamous group at her school. The "wild pack of freshman sluts" had made inappropriate and sexual shirts to support the boy's lacrosse team. This group of girls was all anyone could talk about. Siobhan found herself wondering about these girls long after her school visit was complete.
The result was Not That Kind of Girl. Published in 2010 by PUSH, an imprint of Scholastic, it is the story of high school senior and student body president, Natalie. A girl who likes to have everything under control, her ideas are questioned when she tries to mentor a freshman girl, Spencer, who exerts sexuality and believes it makes her sexually powerful. Then there is football player and notorious, bad boy Connor who maybe isn't so bad after-all. Booklist says, "Vivian challenges the assumptions about sex being rampant in high school and sends a positive message about acceptance, forgiveness, and love." Siobhan also shared her personal view on peer pressure and identity, saying that girls who have bad behavior are not necessarily bad girls. Part of growing up is making mistakes and choosing to become the person you want to be—not an easy feat.
A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults pick in 2011, Not That Kind of Girl is Siobhan's third novel. Her first two, A Little Friendly Advice (2008) and Same Difference (2009) received positive reviews including stars from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. Siobhan's newest novel, The List, comes out in April 2012 and continues her exploration of complex female teens.
Siobhan graduated from The University of the Arts where she received a degree in Writing for Film and Television. She then went on to receive her MFA in Creative Writing: Children's Literature from The New School University where editor and author David Levithan was her thesis advisor. Born in New York City and raised in Rutherford, New Jersey she currently lives in Pittsburgh where she teaches Writing Youth Literature at the University of Pittsburgh.
For more information visit her website http://www.siobhanvivian.com and follow her on Twitter @siobhanvivian.
Contributor: Emily Griffin
Reviews
A Little Friendly Advice
Siobhan Vivian
Ruby's sixteenth birthday celebration with three friends takes an unexpected turn when her dad crashes the party after a ten-year absence. Ruby only wants to play with her vintage Polaroid and maybe experience her first hook-up, but her plans keep getting interrupted by stale memories of her dad and the best intentions of her closest friend, Beth. This first novel expertly captures the authentic voices of teen girls. Vivian sets up a beautiful contrast between the clean, still moments of life, captured in a white Polaroid frame, and its ongoing complexities and flow. The tension between the girls is tenderly captured, and Ruby's fears of abandonment produce empathy rather than pity. The given reality of teen smoking and drinking might limit the book to a high school audience. Category: Friendship/Divorce/Romance. YA—Young Adult. 2008, Push (Scholastic), 248 pp., $16.99. Ages young adult. Jackson, TN. Reviewer: Melissa Moore (The ALAN Review, Fall 2008 (Vol. 36, No. 1)).
ISBN: 9780545004046
Not That Kind of Girl
Siobhan Vivian
Natalie Sterling is a most serious student at Ross Academy, who wants to spend her senior year as Student Council President and aims for exemplary SAT scores to get offers to the best colleges in the country. She has no time for high school social life, except for with her best friend Autumn, whose high school fate had taken an ill turn with a dishonest boy when she was a freshman. Since then, she sticks close to Natalie, both girls turning to the serious side of study and academic achievement. However, senior year has Autumn trying new avenues of social interaction, leaving Natalie, ever serious, alone. Her life turns complicated when she gets involved with a boy-crazy freshman girl who accepts Natalie's invitation to get involved in Student Council, but turns it upside down with her antics. Eventually the football player Connor Hughes shows an interest in Natalie, and their romance turns serious and involved. Natalie learns a great deal about friendship and commitment during her last year of high school, and becomes a more balanced and insightful girl, ready to face the world on its terms, and not just hers. This is a compelling read, honest and involved. Adolescent girls will easily identify with the characters and their complicated situations. 2010, Scholastic Press/Scholastic, Ages 14 to 18, $16.99. Reviewer: Donna Ashcraft (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9780545169158
Same Difference
Siobhan Vivian
Emily wants to pool hop and tan her way through another summer in Cherry Grove. Now that her best friend has a boyfriend, everything feels different so when she is offered a spot at a prestigious art program in Philadelphia, she wants to leave her hometown a few hours a day. As she bounces between suburbs where everyone tries to fit in and a city where everyone wants to be unique she struggles to find her identity. It is hard to tell right from wrong. The author creates a picture about what it is like to be different and a teenager under these circumstances. It is pretty much true-to-form with those circumstances. The art school information will be interesting to the reader, as well as the experiences of traveling around the city. It is a detailed description of a segment of a teen's life at a critical time for decisions. The story is very well written and holds the reader's interest. 2009, PUSH/Scholastic, Ages 12 to 16, $17.99. Reviewer: Naomi Butler (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9780545004077
Updated 11/29/11
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