Archives for February 2012
Twitterview: Matthew Quick
Pitch Boy21 in 140 characters.
It’s about the Irish mob, outer space, and basketball. (It’s also about friendship, love, choice, and the power to break a bad cycle.)
What inspired Boy21?
Playing street ball as a kid with brother-like friends. Losing touch with those people, because of the very different choices we made.
What should readers walk away with from Boy21?
I think all good stories help us to be better people. I hope (trust?) readers will find BOY21 to be a worthy story.
The stars play a big role in Boy21. Do you have a favorite constellation? Or maybe one that inspired your story a bit?
Used to look up at stars with a high school friend. Didn’t know the names of constellations back then. Didn’t matter, though. Helped a lot.
In Boy21 and Sorta Like a Rockstar, you write the voice of both genders authentically. Do you find one harder/easier/more interesting to write?
All characters–male and female–are hard to figure out. All people are complex. Writing in the female voice feels safer. Better mask.
I always ask this of male Twitterview victims — what’s your take on the notion that guys “don’t read?”
I read! I’m a guy! I read in high school too. And this former English teacher taught many girl non-readers. #GuyReadersRepresent
You wrote a novel for adults before SLARS and Boy21. Why did you shift focus?
My first adult novel has a YA feel. Most of my characters struggle with the inevitability of adulthood. I still struggle too.
Speaking of the Silver Linings Playbook, it’s being made into a film. What’s the experiencing of seeing your story on screen?
Surreal. Amazing. Mostly surreal. (Felt very unsexy standing on the movie set next to People’s Sexiest Man Alive Bradley Cooper.)
While it’s unfair to play favorites, I’m going to make you. Which character among all your books is the one who speaks to you most? Why?
1-3 Is it unfair to say all of them? 2-3 I’d like to do therapy with Dr. Cliff Patel, sip green tea with Private Jackson, and stargaze with Russ and Finley. 3-3 Sometimes I wish Amber Appleton were my daughter.
Who or what do you write for?
For who: My wife. For what: Hoping to be the man she admires.
What was your most influential read as a teenager?
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA? (Maybe the first book I felt I ‘got’ completely.)
Who are your top three writing influences?
Vonnegut. Hemingway. Camus. (Gao Xingjian, Murakami, so many more.)
Who do you believe is breaking ground in YA right now?
I hope I am! (Sara Zarr and A.S. King are my Little, Brown buddies. I respect their work much.)
What’s the best writing advice you ever received?
Relax. Your best efforts can get in the way. Also, be the leaf in the stream.
What’s your best writing advice to give?
Be authentically you. Figure out who you are and then be that person on the page no matter what anyone says.
What is your writing routine?
It’s ever evolving. Work in progress. (Trying to get back to routine at the moment.) In two words: whatever works.
What gets you jazzed to write?
Whenever I can believe that writing truly makes a difference. That art saves the writer and the reader alike.
Do you have a writing soundtrack? Care to share a bit?
Can only write to instrumental. Paganini’s Violin Concertos, Keith Jarrett’s The Koln Concert, Yusef Lateef’s Eastern Sounds, and many more.
What’s next for you?
Just sold another (very different) (edgy) YA to my editor Alvina Ling at Little, Brown. I’m also writing an adult novel.
Favorite ice cream?
Ginger. (I like old-people ice cream. Pistachio. Coffee. Reminds me of eating dessert with my grandparents.)
Cinder Audiobook Winner!
Random.org has spoken, and the winner of the Cinder audiobook is Rachel of Writing on the Wall. Congrats, Rachel! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Remember, you can still enter to win a copy of Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe here. More giveaways are upcoming!
The winner of Audition is Kayla — you’ve been contacted.
Check back tomorrow for new giveaways soon and thanks to everyone who entered!
Doing Our Part: Nominate Titles for YALSA’s Lists & Awards
Remember last week I talked about angst and being regretful about not doing my part in nominating a title I loved for YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults list?
Field nomination forms are now open, including the nomination form for BFYA.
I’m planning on spending the next day or two thinking about the titles that have stood out to me, published after September 1, 2011 and the ones I’ve started in on with 2012 copyright dates, and I’m planning on writing up the nominations. As I mentioned in my original post on this topic, field nominations need to meet the designated list or award’s guidelines, and those are all spelled out on the individual websites (accessible here and here). It’s crucial you do your research on the particular award or list before you nominate, to make sure your nomination is actually heard.
Other things to consider when you nominate: write out a well-reasoned, thoughtful, and purposeful reason why that particular book or media fits the list or award for which you’re nominating it. For BFYA, for example, explain why that particular book is one you think is about the BEST fiction for young adults, as well as how or why it should be considered on a list for librarians who use those lists to develop their collections and provide reader’s advisory. Reference appeal of the book, why or how it’s particularly well written, what makes it better than average. You don’t have to write a novel for your nomination, but you do have to nail key aspects of the book that make it good. So, for the title I’ve already nominated (because yes! I’ve already submitted a title), I emphasized pacing, effective use of subtle detail for character development, and how the writer’s ability to bend genres to tell an effective and powerful story makes it one that will stand out and resonate with readers.
In other words, really think through why you think a book is worthy and emphasize those key points in your nomination form. The better job you do, the easier the job is on the part of the committee. You want your nomination to be taken seriously, and you want the committee to read the book, as well as discuss it.
If you’re nominating a title that was published between September 2011 and December 31, 2011, make sure you check the previous year’s list to ensure you’re not nominating a title that has already been added to a list.
Remember that anyone can nominate titles for consideration, as long as they meet the criteria (and as long as you’re not the author, publisher, or editor of that particular title because yes, the committee will check). I hope you join me in spending time this year offering up thoughtful, well-reasoned nominations for the different award and list considerations.
Boy21 by Matthew Quick
Finley loves playing basketball, and he’s pretty good at it because when he practices and plays, he is in it 100%. There’s no deviating from focus for him. He’s best friends with Erin, who, too, loves basketball. And though they aren’t officially “a couple,” they do like to kiss and spend time together and maybe it’s true that they’ll end up getting married down the road because they do care about each other that much. Except during basketball season, when Finley tells Erin they cannot be together because his focus can only be in that one place.
Things change though the day that Finley’s coach shows up at his door and tells him they need to talk. There’s going to be a new kid at school, Russell, and coach believes Finley should help her adjust to the new school. Russell — who prefers to be called Boy21 — was a top recruit for college basketball teams, but when his parents died tragically, his life was shaken. He’s been taken out of his home and sent to live with his grandparents in this neighborhood. Coach knows Finley would be the right person to help Boy21 adjust.
This isn’t a story about Boy21 adjusting to the new neighborhood, though. It’s a story about Finley learning what happened to himself.
Quick won my heart with his novel Sorta Like a Rockstar and it took only two chapters to realize I was going to be reduced to a mess by the end of Boy21, too. From the start, we get to know Finley and we realize he is a good kid. He’s honest, dedicated, and despite being treated terribly at school, he soldiers on with an optimism and determination that’s admirable. See, Finley is one of the few white kids at his school, and he’s earned nicknames because of this. Bellmont, his town, is home to the Irish mob, racial fights, drugs, and violence. As readers, we know this right away, and when we meet Finley, we see a kid defying his own situation. It’s the moment when his coach asks him to help support Boy21, who has been through tragedy personally, we start to see that things aren’t going to be any easier for Finley.
Boy21 is weird, at least in Finley’s opinion. He’s obsessed with the sky and he believes his parents will return to him in a space ship some day. He talks about the constellations as though they’re personal friends. But more than that, Boy21 doesn’t want to play basketball. No matter how hard Finley tries to coax him into it, knowing he’s a good player, he won’t do it.
Until the time he does.
When Finley realizes that Boy21’s performance means he might lose out on playing time, he’s understandably upset, but because he’s such a good kid, he also realizes this is an asset to the team. And being a team player, he’s surprisingly okay with it, too. It’s just when something terrible happens that things suddenly change, and Finley believes he’s made a mistake in funneling so much of himself into basketball.
Boy21 is the kind of book I have to stop talking plot at about this point because anything after this is spoiler. It’s a powerful look at race and rivalry from here on out, and not necessarily as you’d expect. As a reader, I’ve been so inside Finley’s head, I’ve grown to love and believe him as a character, and I have internalized what everyone’s said to him about being a good kid. He is a good kid. But the thing is, so much of that talk is in place because of what happened to him when he was younger. He’s living in a place where he really has no future, and it’s not at all by his own choice. When Finley has this ah ha moment, it’s painful not only for him but for everyone around him. Luckily, he’s paid his dues, and he has an amazing support network — including Boy21 and his off-beat star gazing obsession — to help.
Aside from impeccably drawn characters and a setting that’s going to test them all, this book features a thread through it that really hit me. One of the boys on the basketball team escapes from his life by reading, and others on the team bother him about it. During one of these teasing sessions, a book is torn from his hands, and it’s Harry Potter. The teasing becomes relentless, but it actually motivates Finley to read the book. The ways the story of Harry and Hogwarts weave into the plot were smart and savvy readers will appreciate them. It was the last reference to Harry Potter from Finley, though, that reduced me to a sobbing mess at the end of the book. It’s pitch perfect and captures the entire essence of Finley and why he’s such a damn good character.
Boy21 is a book that will appeal to fans of Quick’s first YA novel, as it will appeal to readers who
love a story about a good character in a rough environment. It’s a unique exploration of racial tensions, and it’ll hit home with readers who have ever felt like an outsider, regardless of their background. Quick is smart and subtle in offering us a white kid dealing with what so many could associate with urban problems and a black kid challenged with what has become almost a suburban stereotype. It’s an emotional read, and not one that’s necessarily easy, but it’s one that’ll leave a lasting impression. Much as I love a character I can hate, Quick offers me characters I can’t help but want to reach out to and tell them how good they are. No doubt this one will appeal to boys, too. The voices are authentic and relatable.
This book will be available for purchase March 1, but you can win a copy here starting tomorrow (when you’ll get to read one of my favorite Twitterviews to date!)
Review copy received from the publisher months ago. I put it off though because of how much I loved Sorta Like a Rockstar and didn’t know how it could be followed up. Well, this is how. Boy21 is available March 1 — put it on your radar now.
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