Is the popularity of Zoella’s “Girl Online” a good thing?

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] while ago, there was a lot of fuss about ‘Youtube personality’ (because who needs a proper job?) Zoella straying from her computer to write a fiction book. Was it fair that she got the shot when other authors didn’t, and when it turned out she needed a ghost-writer, could you even call it her book? Whatever you think, Girl Online hit the shelves and it seems that kids everywhere lapped it up.

The eighth annual “What Kids Are Reading” survey, which measures trends in children’s reading habits by looking at the most read and the most popular books, found that Girl Online was the most liked book in secondary schools. This has caused a lot of concern for critics, who think that if children tend towards ‘unchallenging’ books, it would harm their literacy levels later in life.

Girl Online follows the story of a 15 year old girl who winds up in a relationship with a rock star and whose blog about friendship, boys and anxiety goes viral as a consequence – there are certainly parallels with Zoella’s life, and it is suggested that a lot of its popularity comes from this. The blogger likes to share her life with her fans, and her experiences are on the whole very similar – that they can interact with her means she is a star unlike many.

That her fans can interact with her means she is a star unlike many

Now, I haven’t read the book myself, but it received very mixed reviews, facing criticism for being poorly written. It is undeniable, too, that her popularity was responsible for the highest first-week sales since records began, so the book was going to be out there whether it was any good or not.

It is undeniable, too, that her popularity was responsible for the highest first-week sales since records began

I’m not going to be a book snob and look down on it simply because of the author is – I think it’s good that kids are reading, and they should read whatever they enjoy. The report does suggest, though, that all kids are reading is what’s popular at the moment, and if that is the case, they are shutting themselves off from a whole world of fantastic books.

There is definitely a change in the landscape – that a girl can shift books because people like to watch her put on make-up confuses me – but that is not the crux here. Kids are reading and they’re enjoying it. Zoella is not Dickens, but she has got kids into books.

Image Credits: Flickr / Gage Skidmore (Header)