In her fourth novel – and her first with Éditions de la Bagnole – journalist, columnist and novelist Anne-Marie Lobbe tackles themes dear to teenagers – love and friendship. But in the course of a sunny romantic comedy about an increasingly popular water sport activity, stand-up paddleboarding, it also tackles a more difficult and still taboo subject: generalized anxiety disorder.
Rita is confused about what she wants after completing a disappointing freshman year and her general anxiety mounts. She wants to relax in a mini cottage all summer long.
The young woman imagines that she will spend the summer laughing and drinking orange wine with her best friend Mackenzie. However, the latter played a little trick on him by signing them both up for a paddle board course.
A new activity that will lead to many adventures and interesting discoveries. In this first Young Adult novel, Anne-Marie Lobbe notes that since the pandemic, we have been talking more and more about fear, even if this disorder has always been present.
A calming activity
“We’re hearing a little more about it. Regardless of the age group, it’s something that touches people. I’m not one to give advice on this, but I found out myself that I was scared. Something I had never experienced before.”
“I wanted to find a way to approach it without making it too difficult: It’s okay, it can happen to anyone, at any age,” she said in an interview. “We can find ways to work on it and have friends who can help us, who want to understand us and who want to guide us.”
Paddle boarding, a nautical activity she practices, allows her to relax, de-stress and find calm.
“It’s soothing: the sound of the water, the sound of the sun. I’ve done it with other friends and in a gang and it’s really something that disconnects. You might be in the middle of the Rivière des Mille-Îles or further north, but you feel like you’re somewhere else. It’s zen, it feels good, just the sound of the water and the feel of the wind.
“I still have to stress that for my anxious side I can’t be somewhere where there are a lot of boats because that will definitely stress me out. But I am working on it!
The writing is really well done. “In the beginning, Rita was the main character.
But the more I wrote Ian’s character, the more I bonded with him. I discovered a character that I really liked and when I stopped writing I felt like I was bored of him. I fell in love with this character.
Relevant Topics
In addition, Anne-Marie Lobbe really enjoyed writing for the young adult category.
“The characters are in their mid-twenties, a little older than in my other 12-13 year old novels. We will look for older themes, we will approach sexuality. I have a feeling readers in their 20s and 30s will enjoy reading the novel.”
The novelist finds that educational novels that deal with personal tasks and life choices are relevant for every age group, not just the young adult category.
“We always have to find ourselves, identify with universal issues that get us,” she says.
♦ Anne-Marie Lobbe is a journalist and editor for the magazine cool ! as well as for several websites.
♦ She is also a children’s literature columnist at MontrealJournal.
♦ Two on my paddleboard is his fourth novel.
♦ There will be a sequel.
EXTRACT
Photo courtesy of Editions de la Bagnole
“The idea of this all summer mini cottage is mine. The last few months have been very exhausting, both physically and mentally. I feel drained, like all of my energy, worse, all of my passion, has withdrawn from my being. It started at the end of my first semester of sexology at university, a few months ago. The slap in the face. Am I right here? Did I make the right choice? Will my life be ruined if I change my mind in the middle of first year? I went ahead and did the second session but the doubt remained.