Interview: Looks by Madeleine George

1. Your novel LOOKS deals with invisibility, fitting in, and more. What goes on in Looks, and what was your inspiration behind writing this story?

As a teenager, I was pretty low on the social totem pole, but I was never all the way down and out, never friendless, and I was always curious about the very few kids who seemed invisible--in other words, socially worthless--in my school's social order. So I wanted to write a story about a girl who's fat and genuinely friendless, all the way outside the social hierarchy of her school, and how her life is transformed by becoming friends--even tentative, shaky friends--with another girl on the fringes of her school. It seems to me that the difference between no friends and one friend is a potentially life-saving difference: no friends is a social catastrophe, a dangerous emotional situation, and one friend is a society of two.

2. What are your protagonist's Meghan and Aimee like? What are they dealing with in their school

Meghan is big, awkward, almost completely silent, intensely observant, and very smart. Aimee is tense, emaciated, sarcastic, intensely self-conscious, and very smart. Meghan deals on a daily basis with being bullied by J-Bar, the golden-boy basketball star who's made a hobby out of tormenting her since seventh grade. Aimee's dealing with how much she misses her mom's ex-boyfriend, who taught her everything she knows about writing and who just moved out of their house. Aimee's also dealing with her desire to be embraced by the girls who run the literary magazine at school. They're both struggling to feel seen and also protect themselves from being too exposed, and they're both yearning for connection with other people.

3. What about Cara and J-Bar?

Cara is the editor of the school literary magazine, and apparently perfect; she's pretty and charming and a total overachiever; she's the girl who teachers love, who's friendly with lots of different kinds of kids, who seems to be an all-around wondergirl. It's only when Aimee gets to know her a little better that she sees how fragile Cara's sense of herself is, and what lengths she's willing to go to protect her own self-image as brilliant and special.

J-Bar isn't that deep of a character, to be frank--he's pretty much the villain of the story, and his inner life doesn't really get explored too much in LOOKS. He's just sort of...the bad guy.

4. Do you have a favorite character in Looks? Who/why?

I don't have a favorite character, although I really loved writing the speeches that Mr. Handsley, the beleaguered English teacher, gives. I've been teaching for a long time, and I've always wanted to say many of the things Mr. Handsley says, I've just never let myself say them out loud.

5. How long did it take to write Looks?

LOOKS took me about four years to write. But I would go away from it and come back, go away from it and come back. It's my lifelong goal to write faster--I'm trying to learn how!

6. What do you think about your cover? (Both hardcover and paperback versions)

I love them both. I love the shiny glam hardback cover, and I love the extremely clever graphic paperback cover. The paperback is particularly dear to my heart, because it's not just beautiful but smart: by transforming the letters of the title into bird's-eye views of the two protagonists the designer has managed to evoke the flyover perspective of the opening and closing paragraphs of the book, and has also literally put the characters--who use writing in many different ways in the story-into words. The talented Tony Sahara did both covers, for which he has my undying respect and gratitude.

7. Do you have anything new you're working on?

I'm working on a new book about a girl who's a passionate radical activist, and what happens to her when she realizes she might not be right about everything she fervently believes.

Thank you so much for the interview Madeleine!

-YABQ

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Release date: October 13th

Amazon description: For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgement.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

This novel sounds like it will be amazing, and the cover is soooo gorgeous. I want this so badly...if only the thirteenth of October were here already!

-YABQ

Interview: Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook

Hello everyone! Today I have Eileen Cook here to answer some questions about her newest novel, Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood.

What is your novel Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood about?

I would tell you the book is about friendship, figuring out what you really want in life, and how payback can be a bitch. Then because this is totally a vague answer that tells you absolutely nothing, I would point you to a more formal description that the publisher came up with.

Popularity is the best revenge.

In the final weeks of eight grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain, the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend.

But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn't dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's ever been important to Lauren--starting with her boyfriend.

Watch out, Lauren Wood. Things are about to get bitchy.

What inspired you to write this novel?

I was talking with a friend about how most people we know had the experience of having someone you thought you could trust, someone you may have thought was a friend, totally screw you over. Maybe they cheated with your boyfriend, or they shared your secrets with someone, or you found out they were telling lies about you behind your back. Whatever they did, it totally rocked your world because until that point you didn't think someone you liked and trusted was capable of doing that. We each shared our story and then talked about the ways we wished we could have gotten revenge on that person. Later that weekend I was cleaning my bookshelves (which I have to do all the time because my house is basically buried under books) and came across a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. This is a great book about revenge and I started flipping through it and thinking how great it would be to come back to town if no one knew who you were and to have a chance to take someone down who had hurt you.

The book combined with that discussion starting my brain spinning. I started to sketch out the idea and after a few pages I was off and running.

What are your main characters like?

Helen/Claire is the main character. She's been betrayed by someone who she thought was her best friend. She's convinced her life would be totally different if this hadn't happened to her. When she has a chance to come back and get revenge on Lauren, she can't resist. At first the revenge is a lot of fun, but she begins to notice that it is taking over her life.

There is Lauren Wood of course, the one who betrays Helen. I'll be interested to see what people think of her. I had a lot of fun writing her character. Writing people who are bad is fun.

Do you have any favorite characters?

I love them all! This is the problem with writing them. You spend so much time with them that you feel like they are friends except for the part where you realize they are all made up.

I have a fondness for Christopher. He is a classic film nut, he watches old black and white movies all the time and plans to be a director in the film industry. He's totally comfortable with who he is and doesn't worry what other people think of him. I admire people who have that much confidence. Plus, he's really cute.

Have you ever done something crazy in order to get revenge on someone?

I've never done anything to get revenge, but I sure have thought about it sometimes! If I want to sound all grown up and Zen I would tell you that living a happy life is the best revenge. If we use that definition then I've gotten revenge. I'm really lucky. I love my life, I have a great husband, dogs and get to write books. That's pretty darn good.

I am one of those people who does have a long memory. If you've been mean to me or someone I care about, I don't forget. I wouldn't get revenge, but I sure wouldn't go out of my way to do anything nice for you.

Thank you so much Eileen! It sounds fantastic!!!