I was lucky enough to get my hands on an ARC of THE SUMMER I SAVE THE WORLD...IN 65 DAYS by Michele Weber Hurwitz...I absolutely fell in love with this read (as my questions for Michele reveal). I'm a sucker for realistic, contemporary reads, and this one's a gem. A breath of fresh air in a sea of magical or fantasy-based MG reads...
Where did the
idea come from?
I wove many
thoughts together for this story. First, we hear so much about paying it
forward and random acts of kindness, but sometimes the amount of problems in
our world overwhelms me, and I wondered -- does doing good really do any good? Is
it making a difference? Second, I wondered how people truly react when random
good comes their way. Is it always positive? I also worried about how
technology has altered family life and neighborhoods, and how we live in this
era of a sort of "disconnected connection." Lastly, I read about a
class at the University of Iowa where the professor had students write down
each day three positive events or experiences -- no matter how big or small --
and how this changed their perspectives. I started doing that too. We tend to
focus on the negative, or what goes wrong, instead of recognizing small, good
things that go right every day.
Did your own
grandmother have a set of STs (simple truths)?
While Nina's
grandmother isn't based on anyone in particular, my grandmother was a very
no-nonsense type of woman. She never wore makeup or had her hair done. She lost
her husband very young and worked in a factory, then later, as a bank teller.
She certainly had a number of beliefs that she felt strongly about. Most had to
do with not wasting money and living a sensible life. And keeping a very clean
home :)
In this era of
iPhones, iPads, etc, we’ve become more isolated. Is that true of your own
neighborhood? Would your own neighbors call the police at the sight of a
good deed? Is the neighborhood of your adult years different from the
neighborhood where you grew up? Do you still have any girlhood friends
from your old neighborhood?
I actually do
live in a cul-de-sac, but it's only four houses, as opposed to the eight houses
in the book. There definitely has been a shift as the kids in my neighborhood
have gotten older. You see people outside less, but I do think that also has to
do with our i-world. It's really strange, when you think about it, that I will
email my neighbor who lives two houses away, instead of walking over. I do have
a nostalgic fondness for the neighborhood I grew up in, as many people do. I
remember kids and parents being around more, and just knowing each other more. One
of my best friends lived on the block behind mine, and we're still close,
although we don't live near each other now. The idea for the book about one
panicky neighbor calling the police after a few of Nina's good deeds actually
did come from real life! There was an item in my local paper's police blotter
about a woman calling the police when a girl she didn't recognize was distributing
homemade cookies in her neighborhood. So it definitely can happen!
Nina describes
her family as being “separated” but also living in the same house. Do you
think this is typical today? Do you think this also makes for a greater
desire for kids to find someone who “gets me,” as Nina says?
There are some
things going on with Nina's family that result in the separateness that Nina
describes, but yes, I think families can easily slip into that type of pattern,
especially as kids reach their teen years. I have actually texted my younger daughter
to come downstairs for dinner! (She had her headphones on, okay?) With the
Internet, people answer emails around the clock, and kids are online at night.
Because of this, there probably isn't the same family time of years ago. As for
friendship, I think that's such a universal desire -- to connect with someone
who "gets" you. Don't we all long for that kind of friend?
Where did the
Kumiho, or nine-tailed fox idea come from?
My writing desk
looks out on my backyard, and a few years ago, two red foxes ran into my yard.
I live in a regular suburban neighborhood so this was pretty unusual. I
remember just stopping what I was doing and staring out the window. I was
transfixed by their beauty and wildness. The idea for the fox in the story came
from that encounter, even though I wasn't even writing TSISTW back then.
Nina is called
an “old soul”—a phrase I haven’t heard in a long time. People have said
as much of me. Who in your life has been referred to as an “old soul”?
Well, me. An
astrologer once told me that. I'm not sure if I believe in those kinds of
things, but I do think there are certain people with a deeper sense, a heightened
understanding. I'm glad to meet another old soul :)
The suspicious Mrs. Millman is quite a character. Is she based on anyone?
I have to admit
there was a neighbor on my block growing up that all the kids were scared of.
It seemed she was always peeking out her window, waiting for us to do something
wrong. My little brother wrote his name in chalk all the way down the sidewalk
to her house, and she called my mom about it! My mom always joked that she
wanted to pretend it wasn't him, but there wasn't anyone else in the
neighborhood named Joey, especially one who wrote his name with a backward J.
In this era of
“princessification” of young girls, I really loved the fact that you depicted a girl who was more concerned
with her actions than her looks. Was that a conscious choice as you built
Nina, or just part of creating a fully fleshed-out character?
It was a
conscious choice, but also, I happen to love girl characters who are interested
in things other than clothes and makeup. I'm happy to see girls and women speaking
out now about how photo-shopped images of models can undermine self-esteem and
send a damaging message, and how strength and leadership should be encouraged
in girls. I hope we continue to see more dynamic, intelligent girl characters
in middle grade novels.
The story builds
beautifully—the ending becomes a page-turner. Are there more Nina stories
to come?
I'd love to
write another Nina story! It's hard to say goodbye to a character after you
turn in that last draft. We'll see...
You masterfully weave your 65
deeds into Nina’s extraordinary summer. What’s 66?
I guess we'll
have to find out number 66 if there's a sequel :)
How would Grandma have
summed up Nina’s summer?
Grandma would
be so proud of her, no doubt about that. And I think Grandma was right there
with her the whole time. If she summed it up in a Simple Truth, it probably
would have been: You get back what you put in, so make it count.
One of my favorite scenes is
Nina planting the forget-me-not seeds. It seems that in writing this
book, you’re also planting a few seeds in your readers’ minds. What do
you hope readers take away from this story?
I hope readers
will realize that small good things are much bigger than they seem. And, that
doing good doesn't have to be about raising tons of money or spending a
Saturday cleaning up a park (although those efforts are certainly wonderful).
But more just about being a good person. Cliché, I know, but ask kids or teens
what they like best about their teachers. Invariably, they'll say: "she's
nice." Ask yourself what stuck with you from your day. Maybe someone held
a door open for you when your arms were full of grocery bags, or shared
tomatoes from their garden, or made you laugh. That's what is important in the
long run. We all know it. We just have to do it more.
---
Michele Weber
Hurwitz is also the author of Calli Be Gold (Wendy Lamb Books 2011), which was
named a Best Book by the Bank Street College of Education and was nominated for
a 2014 Bluestem Readers' Choice Award. She lives in a suburb of Chicago with
her husband and three children, and loves to walk and eat chocolate (not at the
same time). Find her at micheleweberhurwitz.com and on Twitter
@MicheleWHurwitz.
Michele has also provided a signed copy of her fantastic book for our readers. US / Canadian residents are encouraged to fill out the form below; the contest runs through Monday, April 28.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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