Hello, Therians!
Today, Kathi Baron, debut author of Shattered, stops by to tell us why she writes for young adults :)
Be sure to stop by tomorrow when I'll be reviewing Shattered!!
Shattered is about Cassie
Prochazka, a violinist in the Chicago Youth Symphony. About what happens the
day after her debut as a soloist when her dad breaks her violin. She's enraged
and runs away. She meets a number of helpful and not-so-helpful strangers.
Eventually, her violin teacher talks her into returning home, where she
unravels a terrible secret within her family. A painful violin secret. Within
the secret is also her sense of power, which she uses to open up new
possibilities for healing the homeless, her family, and herself.
Buying Links:
GUEST POST
Why I Write for Young Adults
by
Kathi Baron
There’s usually a pause when I tell someone that I write
young adult novels and short stories. I expect something to follow after the
pause and usually what does is a comment like, “Interesting.” No one ever
follows with: Why do you write young
adult stories? Why not adult stories
since you’re an adult?
I often wonder if when people pause that they’re making some
assumptions about me. Like She doesn’t
want to grow up, so she’s staying a teenager by writing about them. Or, That’s just weird. She’s weird. Or it
could be this, She’s not good enough to
be a real writer, so she writes for kids. Maybe it’s all of the above,
although the pause isn’t long enough to come up with all of these thoughts. So
that’s not it.
Or maybe the pause is the other person’s opportunity to
reflect on that writing about and for young adults is, simply put, interesting.
I agree. Writing about and for young adults is interesting.
I got into writing for this age group after working as an
occupational therapist in adolescent psychiatric units for 15 years. The work
was challenging and demanding at times, but mostly, I loved our conversations.
When I began writing my first young adult novel, what got my
attention was remembering my own coming of age. There was a vulnerability there
that was soft and beautiful. There were all those emotions that were intense
because they were firsts: first love, first hurt, first loss, the feeling of
dancing with a boy for the first time.
So many people say that being a teenager was so painful that
they would never return to that time period of their lives, ever again. Not so
for me. If given the chance, I’d definitely go back. I’d go to be in the
company of my classmates in Orrville, Ohio. There were 187 kids in my 1974
graduating class. We had amazing chemistry and we had the rare opportunity to
experience the truest form of friendship.
Back then, we laughed a lot. We cried together. We got into
trouble and got through difficult times together. In fact, we were more focused
on each other than on academics. I’m sure this annoyed our teachers on a daily
basis. But we were busy raising each other and we were enthralled with the idea
of being friends. To this day, we are still very close. As a class, we give a
scholarship to a senior at our high school every year based on the idea of
friendship, not academics, and the recipient must be nominated by a classmate.
So yes, maybe I do write about teens because it is a way to
re-live my adolescent years. That period of my life certainly taught me to
respect teenagers. But also, the teen brain is fascinating because it is
developing the capacity to make complex decisions, to support identity, and to
begin to understand what’s right and to take a stand for what’s right.
As a result, writing about a character with a teen brain is
a natural playground for writers. Like most people, teens can take different
actions in a situation, but because they’re inexperienced and aren’t
future-oriented, their choices sometimes make for surprising and quirky
scenarios. Add to that the feelings of being in a situation for the very first
time and this brings complexity of emotion to a story. Throw in a relationship
between two or more teens, and you’ve got story wealth.
For many of the same reasons that I write in this genre I’m
also caught up in reading young adult literature. It’s a myth, too, that young
adult books aren’t as good as books written for adults. I would argue that some
of the best writing is found in young adult literature. Since young adult books
are not as long as adult books, this challenges the writer to find fewer words
to convey the story and to land on the just-right word. Less pages often makes
a plot even tighter, too, than it might be if more pages were allowed.
As you might guess, I don’t believe that it’s weird to be an
adult writing for young adults. However, I’m sure there are people who could
attest to my weirdness. In fact, I’d be proud to give you some names because
they are my beloved friends I made when I was a teen. The opportunity to write
in this genre has given my life a certain quirky, surprise quality. It often
demands that I remember snippets of my adolescence. My young adult book, Shattered has brought invitations to go
to schools and libraries to talk with teens. These are all good things.
PRAISE FOR KATHI BARON AND SHATTERED:
"The family drama will grab readers, but just as enthralling is the story of a young person devoted to her music, note by note." --Booklist
"Baron successfully uses musical metaphors in the structure of the novel--short chapters with staccato action and slower cadences reflective of the family's struggle to work their way through this situation...a moving story..." --School Library Journal
"...a compelling read." --Kirkus
"This is a novel about picking up
pieces, told in a voice that is both poetic and compelling. Kathi Baron's Shattered has perfect pitch."
--Kathi Appelt, author of The Underneath, a Newbery Honor Book and National Book Award Finalist
--Kathi Appelt, author of The Underneath, a Newbery Honor Book and National Book Award Finalist
"It takes a special kind of author to create an emotional jouney that opens our hearts. Kathi Baron is that kind of storyteller and Shattered is that kind of book."
--Louise Hawes, author of The Vanishing Point and Waiting for Christopher, both New York Public Library Best Books for the Teen Age, and Rosey in the Present Tense, a YALSA Popular Paperback
"Readers will cheer Cassie's journey as she runs away from a shattered home to a brief experience with homelessness and back again. Kathi Baron soars in this debut novel full of creative inspiration, healing and hope. --Lynn Hazen, author of Shifty, a Smithsonian Notable Book & Voice of Youth Advocates "Top Shelf Fiction"
"Shattered is a sonata in words, a deeply lyrical journey, ringing with overtones."
--Tim Wynne-Jones, Horn Book and Edgar Award winning author of Blink and Caution and The Uninvited
CONNECT WITH KATHI
You can reach me at: kathi@kathibaron.com
My blog: http://www.kathibaron.blogspot.com
Follow me on Twitter: @KathiBaron
On Facebook: Shattered
MEET KATHI BARON
7-12-13 to 7-14-13--Vermont College of Fine Arts Alumni Mini-Residency--Montpelier, VT
9-28-13--Zion Benton Library--Teen Writing Workshop--Zion, IL
CHECK OUT ALL THE STOPS IN THE BLOG TOUR
June 11
Guest Post and Book Spotlight at Moonlight Gleam
Guest Post and Book Spotlight at Moonlight Gleam
June 12
Interview and Review at A Diary of a Book Addict
Interview and Review at A Diary of a Book Addict
June 13
Book Spotlight at Unputdownable Books
Book Spotlight at Unputdownable Books
June 14
Feature and Guest Post at Delphina Reads Too Much
Feature and Guest Post at Delphina Reads Too Much
June 15
Review at Hopeless Bibliophile
Review at Hopeless Bibliophile
June 17
Interview and Giveaway at Word Spelunking
Interview and Giveaway at Word Spelunking
June 18
Book Spotlight at My Fiction Nook
Book Spotlight at My Fiction Nook
June 22
Review at Stuck Between the Pages
Review at Stuck Between the Pages
June 24
Review at Books, Thoughts and a Few Adventures
Review at Books, Thoughts and a Few Adventures
June 25
Guest Post at Now is Gone
Guest Post at Now is Gone
June 27
Review at The Kari Annalysis
Review at The Kari Annalysis
June 28 & 29
Guest Post and Review at Therian
Guest Post and Review at Therian
June 30
Review and Interview at J Bronder Book Review
Review and Interview at J Bronder Book Review
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