Holly Smale facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Holly Smale
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| Born | Holly Miranda Smale 7 December 1981 England, UK |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | English literature |
| Alma mater | University of Bristol |
| Genre | Young-adult novels |
| Notable works | Geek Girl series |
| Notable awards | Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2014 Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2013 |
Holly Miranda Smale (born on December 7, 1981) is a British writer. She is best known for creating the popular Geek Girl book series. The first book in this series won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2014. It was also a finalist for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2013. The last book in the series, Forever Geek, was released in March 2017.
Holly Smale also wrote a novel for adults called The Cassandra Complex (in the UK) or Cassandra in Reverse (in the US). This book was chosen by Reese's Book Club in June 2023. It was also a pick for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club.
About Holly Smale
Holly Miranda Smale was born in Hertfordshire, England, on December 7, 1981. From a young age, she loved to read and write stories. She has shared that her experiences of being bullied when she was younger helped her choose what to write about. When she was 15, a modeling agency in London asked her to become a fashion model. She worked as a model for two years but has said in interviews that she did not enjoy it.
Holly Smale went to the University of Bristol. There, she studied English Literature. She has had different jobs, including teaching English in Japan. She has also traveled to many places around the world.
When Holly Smale was 39, she learned she was autistic. She also found out she has developmental coordination disorder, which can affect movement and coordination. She has also mentioned having synesthesia, which means she sees emotions as colors. She also has dyscalculia, which affects math skills, and hyperlexia, which means she reads very early and well. Holly Smale believes in feminism, which supports equal rights for everyone.
The Geek Girl Book Series
The Geek Girl series was first planned to be only three books. However, it grew into a series of six books. These funny stories follow the life of Harriet Manners, a 15-year-old girl who is a bit nerdy. She tries modeling to "reinvent herself" and change her image. After Holly Smale learned she was autistic and had dyspraxia, she said that Harriet, the main character, also has these conditions.
The first book, Geek Girl, received many good reviews. It was the number one new teen fiction book in the UK in 2013. It won the Waterstones' Children's Book Prize in 2014 for young adult books. It also won the Leeds Book Award in 2014 for ages 11–14. The book was also a finalist for several other awards.
Here are the books in the main Geek Girl series:
- 2013 Geek Girl
- 2013 Model Misfit
- 2014 Picture Perfect
- 2015 All That Glitters
- 2016 Head Over Heels
- 2017 Forever Geek
For World Book Day (UK and Ireland) in 2015, Holly Smale wrote a special spin-off book. It was called Geek Drama and takes place between Model Misfit and Picture Perfect. She also wrote a Christmas special called All Wrapped Up in 2015. A summer special titled Sunny Side Up was published in 2016.
A television show based on the books was made for Netflix.
The Valentines Series
In February 2019, Holly Smale released Happy Girl Lucky. This was the first book in a new series called The Valentines. The series is about three sisters and their brother.
The books in The Valentines series are:
- 2019 Happy Girl Lucky
- 2020 Far From Perfect
- 2021 Love Me Not
The Cassandra Complex
The Cassandra Complex is an adult novel by Holly Smale. It features an autistic woman as the main character. The book was published in May 2023 in the UK. It was chosen as a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick. The US title for the book is Cassandra In Reverse. It was selected as the June 2023 pick for Reese's Book Club. It was also a June pick for Aardvark Book Club.
