Internet star Zoella announces she is taking time out

If you hadn’t heard about Zoella before last week, we can’t say we would have blamed you. However, after the furore of recent days, it’s safe to say everyone has heard of her.

YouTube star, Zoella released her debut novel, Girl Online, in November where it sold 78, 109 copies in the first seven days alone, leaving the YouTube star speechless and on  a great high.

However, it wasn’t to last and now Penguin and Zoella have both confirmed that she did not write the novel alone, using a ghostwriter, which has led to much criticism. A rep for Penguin Random House told the Sunday Times: “to be factually accurate you would need to say Zoe Sugg [Zoella] did not write the book Girl Online on her own.”

Zoella, meanwhile, took to Twitter and said: “Thanks for all the positive feedback about Girl Online and for the doubters out there, of course I was going to need help from Penguin’s editorial team in telling my story, which I talked about from the beginning. Everyone needs help when they try something news. The story and characters of Girl Online are mine. I want to thank all of you who have taken time to support the book.”

Now, the criticism has obviously taken its toll on the rising star and she tweeted earlier: “Bare with me on vlogmas. I’m taking a few days out and off the internet because it’s clouding my brain. Thanks for understanding.”

It has been rumoured that an author named Siobhan Curham may be Zoella's ghostwriter due to a blog she had posted about writing a book in six weeks which has since been deleted. The book is believed to have been Girl Online by many speculators. 

Will her young career be able to get up and move past what has undoubtedly been a very bad week for her?