Bellerive was honoured to welcome local author Dee Benson into school on Monday 24th April, to speak to students in Year 7 and 8 about her debut novel, Glow Up, Lara Bloom. She explored the themes within the novel such as body image and self-esteem and gave advice to students on the practices of self-love and what a ‘glow up’ looks and feels like. Students were able to buy a copy of Benson’s book and get it signed. We also have a copy in our school library for any who missed out on the chance to buy one!
It was an inspiring day for us all, and we had great feedback from students following the event, one student saying:
“I really enjoyed it and I would love to do something like that in the future because it made me feel amazing”
When asked what they would remember most, students said:
“That you can be who you want to be”
“Learning that everybody can be unique”
“Her reminder that a glow up isn’t just appearance”
“[To] Glow up for yourself”
Now here’s a little more about the book. Glow Up, Lara Bloom follows the life of Lara and her friends. When Year 10 starts, Lara meets the cute new boy at school – Caiden – and decides to give herself the ultimate glow up to win his heart, but her friends are not impressed. They tell Lara she should never glow up for a boy, only for yourself! This sets Lara and her friends on an empowering project of self-love, and Lara decides to pour all her top-secret dilemmas into an online journal. She asks questions like: how can she keep her hair under control? Why is she so uncoordinated? How will she convince Caiden to take an interest in her? With her secrets locked away, Lara is on track for the glow up of her dreams – what could possibly go wrong?
In the back of the book, Benson writes:
‘I wrote Glow Up, Lara Bloom with three main groups of people in mind: anybody who has ever struggled with low self-esteem, experienced mental health issues such as depression, or been bullied.’
She goes on to tell the reader about different ways we can build our self-esteem, look after our mental health, and gives advice to anyone who may be experiencing bullying. We hope many young people will read the book and find some inspiration and hope within its pages, as they traverse their way through the trials and tribulations of being a teenager.
Fancy borrowing the book from our school library? Reserve it on our catalogue, email library@bellerivefcj.org or pop in to see us at break or lunchtime.
Follow Dee Benson to hear more about her book and any future writing:
Twitter @DeeBensonauthor
Instagram @deebensonauthor
Follow Bellerive FCJ Library:
Instagram @bellerivefcjlibrary
If you’ve read the book and want to tell us what you think, let us know in the comments!