Title: Goodbye Newsroom
Author: Michelle Prak
Published: February 19th 2019
Publisher: Self Published
Pages: 359
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
RRP: $12.99
Rating: 3 stars
When reporter Anna is sacked from the newsroom, she limps home for sympathy from her sister and housemate, Holly. But she discovers that Holly is jobless too, after resigning from the Fairweather Report, a celebrated women’s website.
Now, Holly has grand plans for starting her own online media empire, and she insists that Anna joins her.
Anna’s first task? She’s whisked away to an influencer tour of Uruguay. It’s scary stuff for a reporter who barely knows the difference between hashtags and HTML, but at least handsome Donovan is there to help.
Life becomes even trickier when Holly publishes Anna’s romantic adventures on their fledgling website. The sisters become an online sensation, but Anna is furious that her private life is being used for clicks.
Will the sisters stick together and make a living in this new media world? Or will Anna return to a newsroom again?
If you love career stories with a dash of romance and laughs, you’ll adore Goodbye Newsroom, a modern ode to self-made young women whose greatest tools are their smartphones.
Review:
South Australian based author Michelle Prak released her debut novel last year. Goodbye Newsroom is a story of the bonds of sisterhood, career reinvention, the media industry, romance and adventure, which is presented in a light hearted format.
Meet sisters Anna and Holly. These unemployed journalists are forced to band together to create their very own news site when they lose their jobs. While Anna is a traditional style reporter who has a great deal of experience in the newspaper industry, her sister Holly is well versed in the online side of things, due to her previous work at a women’s website. Together these two put their skills to the test as they take on old enemies and make new ones. Anna and Holly must also learn to trust one another. It is a rocky ride, but with their entrepreneurial spirit, these sisters are determined to make it work, even if love and new opportunities get in the way!
Goodbye Newsroom is a topical and relevant contemporary fiction novel from debut writer Michelle Prak. Michelle Prak has done a good job of tapping into the world of online news reporting, social media and the rise of influencers. Prak also shows us the ugly side of social media, in the form of trolling and cyber bullies. Goodbye Newsroom offers a realistic look at the demise of the traditional media industry, such a print based newspapers and magazines. I found this aspect of the novel to be insightful, eye opening and well informed, which is due to the author’s extensive background in the media industry.
I am always fascinated by sister based stories, as I don’t have a sister myself. I was interested to see how these unemployed sisters would be able to navigate a whole new career and business model in the wake of their respective job losses. Anna and Holly are characterised very clearly and each is distinctly different to the other. Prak teases out their assets and their deficits in a revealing way. We are also privy to the thoughts of each sister by an inner dialogue approach employed by the author. There are plenty of dramas, mishaps and celebrations for the reader to contend with as the book progresses. Goodbye Newsroom it is never too serious, just light hearted, with some attempts at humour, a touch of romance and a little travel thrown in the mix.
On the whole I found Goodbye Newsroom to be a quick read. The plot was relatively straightforward, easy and undemanding. This is not a book that is heavy in terms of depth or themes. I did find it hard to click with both Anna and Holly, perhaps my disconnection of late to contemporary chick lit, or even my age may be a factor here. I think that Goodbye Newsroom is one for the younger audience end and those who are tech savvy or social media minded will appreciate this storyline.
Goodbye Newsroom by Michelle Prak was published on 19th February 2019. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
To learn more about the author of Goodbye Newsroom, Michelle Prak, visit here.
*With thanks to the author, Michelle Prak, for providing me with a copy of this novel, in exchange for an honest review.
Goodbye Newsroom is book #90 of the 2020 Australian Women Writers Challenge
