Middle Grade Minded

 Hooray! Author Elly Swartz has a new book out today!

      Elly is one of my favourite middle grade authors, so I jumped at a chance to read an advance copy of her latest books and ask her all kinds of questions!

       

But first, a little information about the book:

      When Autumn becomes the secret voice of the advice column in her middle school newspaper she is faced with a dilemma--can she give fair advice to everyone, including her friends, while keeping her identity a secret?

Starting Middle School is rough for Autumn after her one and only BFF moves to California. Uncertain and anxious, she struggles to connect with her new classmates. The two potential friends she meets could not be more different: bold Logan who has big ideas and quiet Cooper who's a bit mysterious. But Autumn has a dilemma: what do you do when the new friends you make don't like each other? 

When Autumn is picked to be the secret voice of the Dear Student letters in the Hillview newspaper, she finds herself smack in the middle of a problem with Logan and Cooper on opposite sides. But before Autumn can figure out what to do, the unthinkable happens. Her secret identity as Dear Student is threatened. Now, it's time for Autumn to find her voice, her courage, and follow her heart, even when it's divided.

The interview!

      Hi Elly - Congratulations on DEAR STUDENT, which is such a heartwarming story!  One of the things that I really loved about this book is that almost nothing in this story is black and white, from Autumn’s family situation to her friendship with Logan and Cooper, to even the animal testing issue. Can you talk about your decision to dive headfirst in gray areas?

 

I love this question. The gray matter was intentional. I feel my readers are the age when you start realizing the world is not neat. It is not all right or all wrong, all good or all bad. There is this middle ground you need to wade through and decipher. This space is blurry. And navigating it really pushes you to find your heart, your voice, and what matters to you.

 

2. Autumn uses a technique called Fearless Fred when she is especially in need of some bravery - do you have similar techniques?

 

Ha! I guess I haven’t thought about it that intentionally before, but I suppose Autumn’s Fearless Fred came from me. Not just me, the author, but me, the person. I do feel there are times I need to dig deep with purpose and find the part of me that fear can boss around. The part of me that’s bigger than my worry. 

 

We all have fears and worries and things that make us anxious. It’s what we do about it in those moments. And for me, like Autumn, I try to find my Fearless Fred.

 

3. One thing that I really love about this book is that it addresses full on the fact that most people think other people have it more together than they do. Autumn starts to realize this when she begins to write the advice column. Was this really important to you, to help kids see that their assumptions may be wrong.

 

 

Yes! Kids today often only see the shiny penny version of their friend’s lives on Snap Chat or TikTok. They see the manicured moments and curated pictures. They don’t see what’s underneath. They don’t see that we all have fears and worries. That we all are working on something. So I wanted to explore this in Dear Student. Take Autumn, for example, she assumes Logan is brave and fearless because she is popular and involved in many activities at school. When, in actuality, Logan doesn’t feel brave or fearless. Her popularity and involvement stems from a place of wanting to fill a void left by her mom’s other commitments. When Autumn realizes this, she is better able to empathize and understand. 

That’s the magic of pealing back the layers and getting rid of assumptions. It allows us to take the perspective of others, helps minimize misunderstandings, and allows space for empathy.  

In school visits, I often share this idea with an activity called, 5 Reasons Why. It goes like this, one’s first conclusion is not always the correct one! Challenge yourself to move beyond your first assumption by coming up with five different reasons why a person might:

●      Be late for school.

●      Not attend the school dance

●      Eat lunch alone.

●      Get in fights.

 

It’s amazing how the empathy and understanding grows as kids are encouraged to look beyond their initial assumptions. 

 

4. An interesting part of this book is that several of the parents are pursuing causes and self-actualization that may not be ideal or even good for their children. Can you talk about the decision to include such complicated narratives?

 

You truly picked up on all the things that touched my heart as I wrote. This decision harkens back to the first question you asked about the gray matter. I wanted to show that not every decision is right or wrong, sometimes it truly is both. For instance, Autumn’s dad is doing something really noble, volunteering for the Peace Corps, and Logan’s mom is doing something incredibly important, fighting for women and girls’ rights everywhere. The world needs people like them, but so do Logan and Autumn. And when I wrote these characters, I respected them as people, but was mad at them as parents. Again, nothing is all one thing. It’s all a delicate balance. 

 

5. At the end of the book, we don’t know that everything will work out for Autumn. How important was it for you to leave some things dangling?

 

Hope and authenticity drove the end of this story. I wanted the conclusion to be hopeful. Autumn not only found, but used her voice to share her heart. To me, that was everything. 

 

As for her friendship with Logan and her temporary house with no lilac bushes, time will tell. It felt authentic to leave some things unresolved. After all, that’s real life. We don’t know how it all turns out. But we can be hopeful!

6. Love Elly books! What’s next????

 

You are so sweet. Thank you. That means so much to me. And I am happy to share there is more on the way.

I have another middle grade novel entitled, HIDDEN TRUTHS, coming out in 2023 with Random House. HIDDEN TRUTHS is a story told in dual pov between best friends Danielle – a star baseball player – and Eric – her forgetful, but kind, goofy, crossword-loving neighbor. 

Their friendship has begun to shift when a terrible accident happens, accelerating their rift. 

At its heart, this story asks how far you’d go to keep a promise to a friend. And if forgiveness can really heal the hurt that comes when trust is broken. 

I’m also working on a picture book and starting a new middle grade that I am bursting with excitement to write.

Lots more to come. Woohoo!

Want to learn more about Elly? Visit her website!