To My worthy and Avid readers:
I recently interviewed both authors Jennifer Bertman (link here) and Gennifer Choldenko (link here) who are both going to be visiting Books Inc Burlingame (event details here) on July 8th at 4. I decided to interview them individually first and now together now answering the same questions.
By the way, Yesterday was the third birthday of Book Scavenger Book 1. Click here for my first interview with Jennifer Bertman, the Book Scavenger creator.
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| Gennifer Choldenko on left with her new book and Jennifer Bertman with her new book on the right |
questions are in bold, answers in blue are Jennifer Bertman's
answers in brown are Gennifer Choldenko's
Why did you choose Alcatraz as the main setting for your new book?
Jennifer: I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and have been aware of Alcatraz for what feels like my entire life. I think I took my first tour when I was around 8? While writing the Book Scavenger series, I always knew I wanted to do something special with Alcatraz so I kept it in my back pocket until I had the right idea.
Gennifer: A Capone Throws Me a Curve is the fourth – and probably final, though I won’t swear to it – book in the series. It only made sense to set this book on the Rock.
If you are asking why I set the series on Alcatraz . . . then the answer is because the place fascinates me. The idea that kids lived on the island because their fathers were guards in the prison uptop is extraordinary. If you’ve been to Alcatraz, you know it really is a 12 acre rock smack in the middle of the SF Bay. It seemed amazing to me that you could live on such a small island with some 300 of America’s worst convicts. How weird would it be to walk out your front door and see prisoners working down on the dock. How cool to have your dirty socks laundered by convicts and your trash picked up by prisoners? How spooky to be awakened by the escape siren? How scary to know your father was being held hostage by the prisoners uptop?
2. What makes Alcatraz so unique? What can Alcatraz teach kids and families today?
Jennifer: I was fascinated by it from a young age purely because of how it looks—a rocky island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay with the ominous prison building spanning the top. It’s like a twist on the idea of the old spooky mansion on a hill. Alcatraz also has a rich history that extends both before and after its time as the infamous federal prison.
As far as what Alcatraz can teach people—one thing I kept thinking about as I researched this book was how there’s more to Alcatraz than meets the eye in many different ways. Looking at it from afar, and walking on the island and through the prison, it can feel very cold and intimidating. It doesn’t give off a welcoming vibe. But then there is also great beauty on Alcatraz. It’s an interesting contrast.
And there’s literally more to Alcatraz than meets the eye—the federal prison was built over the remains of the military fort that had been there before. Then there’s the folklore of Alcatraz—growing up I heard over and over how the prisoners were the worst of the worst, sent to Alcatraz because they’d never be able to escape. For me that conjured up ideas of viciously evil villains held captive, but when you read and learn about the prisoners you realize that’s a one-dimensional way to think about people who were there for a variety of reasons and from a variety of backgrounds.
Gennifer: Alcatraz is full of sharp contradictions. On the one hand, it is one of the most extraordinary pieces of real estate in California. The views from Alcatraz are 360 degree spectacular you see the bay, sea lions, sea gulls, boats, world-renowned bridges and the skyline of one of America’s finest cities. On the other hand, Alcatraz is downright creepy. When the fog rolls in and the fog horns sound and you are standing in the entrance of the world’s most imposing cell house with its 5’by 9’ feet cement cells, it does not seem like a nice place. Then all you’re thinking about is how to escape.
What does Alcatraz teach? When you are on Alcatraz, you get a taste of the extremes of human existence. The power and beauty of the man made city, bridges, ships and the natural beauty of the bay. And then on the other hand, the terror and humiliation of a life gone off the rails.
3. What was your research experience like for your latest books? How was it different from previous book research?
Jennifer: My research process for The Alcatraz Escape was similar to the first two books in the Book Scavenger series in that I read widely about various topics, asked experts questions, and also visited (or revisited) locations where scenes took place. I took the Behind-the-Scenes tour of Alcatraz which was crucial for helping me imagine how a game set there might be played, and what characters might notice and do. In my story, part of the prison is partitioned off because it’s under reconstruction—that idea came to me because an area of the prison was like that when I took the tour. As soon as I saw that, I realized it was a detail that would up the tension in a particular scene in my story. I took pictures of how the area was cordoned off and noted things like a plywood door that could easily be snuck through to the closed off area.
The biggest difference between my process with the third book and the first two was time. I had my tightest deadlines to date, and so I had to be much more strategic and efficient with how I went about my research. Because I now live in Colorado, I was only able to visit the city a couple times during the course of writing the books and so I relied a lot on Google Maps, photos and notes I’ve taken on past trips to San Francisco, and personal accounts from both friends who live in the city and also things like reading Yelp reviews, which can often turn up interesting details (although I wouldn’t rely on those as being factual).
Gennifer:
I have been researching Alcatraz for so long, that when a new nonfiction book comes out I get so excited, I hyperventilate. Then I swoop down and snap it up. I’m always on the lookout for new angles, new people to interview and fresh facts. What was different about this book is I spent more time researching the prison experience, in general, not just the Alcatraz prison experience. I read a lot of memoirs of prisoners. I came away deeply grateful that I am a law-abiding citizen.
4. Most important influences on your newest book?
Jennifer: Alcatraz, itself, first and foremost. I was also inspired by escape rooms as well as a visit to Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Thematically, I was thinking about our perceptions and expectations of both people and places.
Gennifer: My sister, Gina, who had autism, was undoubtedly my most powerful influence. I wanted to finish Natalie’s story, because my own sister didn’t get the chance to finish hers. But also I became fascinated by the experience of walking out of prison after decades spent behind bars. What would that feel like? How would you reconcile yourself to the decisions you made that led you to prison? How would you move beyond your convict years? What decisions would you make next?
5. Explain how your newest Alcatraz books are related to each other.
Jennifer: I’m sorry to say I haven’t read Gennifer’s latest, but I surely will. I love her books! The first book of hers that I read was Al Capone Does My Shirts back when it was newly published. I was in the beginning stages of writing Book Scavenger and part of my inspiration in the beginning was simply the setting—San Francisco struck me as having so much potential for a middle grade mystery. But I worked in a children’s bookstore at the time and never came across books set there. As odd as this may sound, I worried that maybe I didn’t see books set in San Francisco because people weren’t interested in San Francisco like I was, and maybe it was a futile effort for me to write a book set there. Then along came Al Capone Does My Shirts, and it was fantastic, and it won a Newbery Honor, and I stopped worrying about my choice of setting and switched to worrying about something else.
Really, working through those worries was the beginning of me realizing that it’s how you tell a story that’s the important thing. You might be working on a book about broccoli and worried that nobody will be interested in a book about broccoli because you don’t see many books like yours, but if you’re telling a great story about broccoli people will be interested. And the fact that there aren’t many broccoli books on shelves right now might even be a good thing in the end.
Gennifer: My book is the fourth in a series, Bertman’s book is the third. There are unique challenges to series books. In my view, they are harder to write than stand-alone novels because they must be entirely accessible to a reader, who has not read the other books in the series, but must also help forward the larger character arcs of the series as a whole. Then, too, you are competing against yourself. Have you written a novel that is as strong as the others?
6. Any other similarities between your two new books besides location?
Jennifer: I think both Gennifer and my writing incorporates humor, well-paced plots with memorable characters, and our books shine a light on historical moments and people in intriguing ways.
Gennifer: Both books build narrative power from the history of the rock. In Book Scavenger, Bertman does an excellent job weaving the famous 1962 escape into the plot of the book. In Al Capone Throws Me a Curve the history of Alcatraz in 1936 is a significant part of the novel.
7. A wise person would once said, “life is a game and books are the tokens” what is your reaction to this quote?
Jennifer: My reaction is fondness for Garrison Griswold. J I think Mr. Griswold believes fiercely that there are books out there for everyone, and everyone deserves books, but he tries to wrap these beliefs in fun and accessible ways, like with the game Book Scavenger.
Gennifer: Books help me gain access to other lives besides my own. Books expand my experience of and understanding of my own life. They help me appreciate my life in a deeper way. Books give me a sense of the wide and incredible world beyond my own experience. If life is a meal, books are the dessert.
8. What books are you reading now?
Jennifer: I’m reading an advance copy of a book called The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden. It’s Ann’s debut novel—a contemporary middle grade—and it’s so incredibly wonderful. The kind of book you hope everyone will pick up and read. So please read it, everyone!
Gennifer: I am reading: The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis and I am listening to: Little Fires Everywhere.
9. What is it like having your books taught in schools across the country?
Jennifer: One of the coolest moments in my career so far happened when I was visiting a school in Dallas. I was hanging out in the library when a group of kids burst in and ran to a table to huddle around a locked box. The librarian explained they were in the middle of a scavenger hunt she’d designed for them using ciphers from my book. I watched as the kids worked together to solve the puzzle. When they succeeded they cheered and ran off to the next destination. On their way out one boy yelled, “This is so cool! It’s like we’re living inside the book!” Being able to witness kids making connections and memories based around a book I wrote is a fantastic gift.
Gennifer: It is a huge privilege. I love signing battered and beloved copies of Al Capone Does My Shirts. I love getting letters from students. Yesterday, I got a letter from an Al Capone Throws Me a Curve reader who loved the book (three exclamation points!) and now she wanted me to write more books about Natalie and I got a letter from a kid asking about Al Capone Shines My Shoes. He wanted to know how many fingers were on Seven Fingers left hand and how many on his right.
10. What would Moose and Emily say to kids today as the main take home messages from their series?
Jennifer: Emily would say that a good friend is worth putting yourself out there for.
Gennifer:
I don’t want my books to be a story wrapped around “a lesson”. I want my readers to get a break from their own lives and slip into Moose’s shoes for a few days. I want to create a story that is both deeply engaging and highly entertaining. I want kids to experience Moose’s choices and come away with an ability to look more closely at their own.
What I like best about Book Scavenger: The Alcatraz Escape is how the book pulls you in with its many clever puzzles. Bertman has done a fantastic job creating a believable and likable heroine in Emily. And she has allowed the reader to actively participate in the book by solving puzzles along with her. I love how Emily had carved out an identity for herself as being the girl who was good with puzzles. But what happens when that identity gets challenged? That speaks to core issues kids (and adults) have.
11. What’s next for you as writers?
Jennifer: I’m working on a new middle grade mystery about broccoli.
No, just kidding. (Or am I?) I’m working on a new middle grade mystery that has to do with Nancy Drew (and broccoli) and that’s all I can say about it right now.
Gennifer: I have a new illustrated novel – still middle grade but for slightly younger readers -- due out in January 2019 called One Third Nerd. I think it is my funniest novel yet. In three weeks, I’m headed to Iowa and Wisconsin to research the novel I have just turned into my editor. I’ve done a ton of research for the book already but I wrote around a few things I didn’t know and I need to fill those parts in for the next draft. I can’t wait!
Now for my gratitude with links.
Thanks to Jennifer Bertman, Book Scavenger, Macmillan Children's Publishing, Gennifer Choldenko, Wendy Lamb Books, Books Inc Burlingame, Books Inc Kids, and all the Worthy Readers out there.
Be sure to check out Facebook pages and other social media of all the links.