BUZZ CLUB
BUZZ CLUB - YA NOVEL (11yrs+ with guidance)
Xena Knox, why I wrote Buzz Club:
In BUZZ CLUB, I’ve started conversations about difficult - but very real - subject matter that’s usually shied away from by the children’s publishing industry. (Thank you to Hodder Children’s Group for being bold along with me)
Now it’s time to openly talk about pretty-faced sexism, controlling and dis-functional teen relationships, messy friendships and how to find your voice - and buzz - in life. Get ready for the sometimes ridiculous humour of Buzz Club and the serious discussions it allows. And if that sounds your vibe - did I mention there are vibrators!
Humour aside, Buzz Club presents real girls who aren’t ‘nice’ or polite. They’re selfish and self involved. And that’s okay. We are NOT sugar and spice and all things nice! Throughout the book we see the characters test and try to define their boundaries in life. While discovering what gives them pleasure with it. This novel is intended to trigger strong opinions in the reader. Whether that’s to hate a character because ‘on the surface’ they’re perceived as ‘mean’ and therefore the reader strengthens their personal view that they won’t tolerate that sort of ‘friendship’ in their own life, or whether it’s to understand why someone may have lashed out or snapped to hide their own struggles, all of the reactions and opinions are welcomed.
As an author I’m very comfortable with causing that friction and allowing my characters to appear quite unlikeable. But if you look deeper you will see that there is real heart and sensitivity within every one of my characters - whether that’s Ella or even Axel in this story. Sadly, as a medium, YA novels tend to be very brief and succinct (we YA authors have very tight word counts imposed upon us) so there are often only glimpses of that hidden pain or fragile personality. This is a symptom of the medium. But also, I quite like the fleeting glimpse, or the random info dump that a character may splurge to the reader. This is not laziness by me, the author, but a strong view that this is who may character is. Just like I will happily info dump parts of my life to a random stranger, so too will some of my characters. And in this world of picking and choosing what we ‘do’ & ‘don’t’ choose to share. And how we decide to communicate our personal experiences - this is intended to allow my readers, fellow authors and the world at large - to decide for themselves, ourselves, where our boundaries lie. And to be okay to present our true nature to the world. We can’t be liked by everyone. We won’t be liked by everyone. But as long as we’re being true to ourselves. And we’re not intentionally seeking to hurt others, merely struggling to navigate our own path (as an example) … then it’s really okay to not be ‘nice’.
Especially if you’re a girl!
Buzz Club is available through all UK independent and mainstream booksellers, as well as on Kindle & Audiobook.