An Inside Look with Jamie Sumner
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
How did you come to know Hugo?
Hugo (as with most of my characters) started with a voice. He is nervous and insecure about his small size, but he's super smart and good with words, which looks like him using a lot of sarcasm and humor to deflect. After that it was just a matter of spending more time with him to see how he would react at a new school in a new town without his usual buffer of friends and familiarity to fall back on.
What do you think is his most admirable quality?
Admitting you are wrong and saying sorry is probably the hardest thing for any kid (or grownup) to do. Hugo makes some mistakes in ONE KID'S TRASH that he has to make amends for and I think he does this so well! It takes a lot to humble yourself, especially when you are someone like him and used to being on the defensive. He is a different person by the end of the book because of it.
Is there anything you wish Hugo would have changed or done differently in his story?
I think Hugo wishes he had treated his cousin better. I also think he would have 100% thrown himself into the school newsletter from the very beginning if he knew how much fun it would be. I also think he would have been more open with his dad about how frustrated he was with him for moving them across Colorado. I also think the entire situation with Chance, the one who bullied him so relentlessly, could have been handled better if it hadn't spun out over months and months and someone, anyone, had stepped in to break the cycle.
What do you think he can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what he went through?
I think Hugo would first offer a big dose of empathy for anyone who has been bullied. I hope that kids and their teachers will see how nuanced bullying really is. Anyone can be bullied. Anyone can be a bully. And bullying can look different from case-to-case. There really are no innocent bystanders when it comes to someone more powerful preying on someone weaker. Hugo would tell everyone to be brave, do the hard thing, and speak up.
How did you research Hugo and the circumstances he found himself in?
Before I was an author I was a high school English teacher! In my creative writing class, I used an exercise for character development called "Garbology" (which is a real thing by the way). The students had to create their character using the contents of that character's trash can. Instead of listing "blue eyes, brown hair, etc" they listed "apple, half-eaten, Algebra homework, half-finished). Looking at what someone throws away is a great way to see what they value. That was how Hugo the Garbologist first began!
Do you and he share any similarities?
I think we both find power in words and we both feel insecure in new situations. Hugo is a great deal braver than I am. And probably funnier too.
What was the hardest scene to write about Hugo?
By far the hardest scene to write was after the roles switched and Hugo became the bully. I don't want to spoil it, but seeing him interact with his best friends after that and watching the impact of his choices on them was such a heart-breaker. It's that time between the bad decision and the amends that feels like you are treading water in the deep and you can't see the edge.
Who do you think was his biggest supporter and why?
Even though he and his cousin Vij have their rough patches, Vij was really his biggest supporter throughout his move to the new school and his introduction to the newsletter. Also, all the best scenes happen with Vij--dodgeball, foodfights, breaking and entering, skiing down the mountain!
Why do you think some people are willing to change their true self in order to be accepted or liked by the “in-crowd”?
It's really scary to be your total honest self. Because then if you are rejected, it hurts so much worse. There is a safety in putting on a disguise of some sorts and then earning your way into people's "likes". I think deep down, we are all afraid of being truly seen. Also, there's something to feeling like you "earned" your place in your social strata that is especially enticing in middle school when you are trying to find all the things are good at.
What do you think Hugo is doing at the present time?
I think he's probably kicked back in his seat at school with Vij behind him planning their next epic ski adventure. Also, after what he went through, I bet his trash can is totally clean. : )
SEASON #SIX (Summer 2019)
Interview #122 with Tamara Bundy (Author of Pixie Pushes On)
Interview #123 with Lindsay Lackey (Author of All the Impossible Things)
Interview #124 with Tae Keller (Author of When You Trap a Tiger)
Interview #125 with Jamie Sumner (Author of Roll With It)
Interview #126 with Hena Khan (Author of More to the Story)
Interview #127 with Phil Bildner (Author of A High-Five for Glenn Burke)
Interview #128 with Leslie Connor (Author of A Home for Goddesses and Dogs)
Interview#129 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Queen Bee and Me)
Interview #130 with Jody J. Little (Author of Worse Than Weird)
Interview #131 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Things You Can't Say)
Interview #132 with Kaela Noel (Author of Coo)
Interview #133 with Rebecca Stead (Author of The List of Things That Will Not Change)
Interview #134 with Gae Polisner (Author of Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me)
Interview #135 with Emily Blejwas (Author of Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened)
Interview #136 with Joy McCullough (Author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost)
Interview #137 with Kim Baker (Author of the Water Bears)
Interview #138 with Erin Entrada Kelly (Author of We Dream of Space)
Interview #139 with Jess Redman (Author of Quintessence)
Interview #140 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Every Missing Piece)
Interview #141 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Brave Like That)
Interview #158 with Rebecca Ansari (Author of The In-Between)
Interview #159 with John David Anderson (Author of One Last Shot)
Interview #160 with Tracy Holczer (Author of Brave in the Woods)
Interview #161 with James Bird (Author of The Brave)
Interview #162 with Marcella Pixley (Author of Trowbridge Road)
Interview #163 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Halfway to Harmony)
Interview #164 with Alan Gratz (Author of Ground Zero)
Interview #165 with Lisa Fipps (Author of Starfish)
Interview #166 with Ann Braden (Author of Flight of the Puffin)
Interview #167 with Kimberly Willis Holt (Author of The Ambassador of NoWhere Texas)
Interview #168 with Elana K. Arnold (Author of The House That Wasn't There)
Interview #169 with Erin Soderberg (Author of The Great Peach Experiment)
Interview #170 with Donna Gephart (Author of Abby, Tried, and True)
Interview #171 with M. Evan Wolkenstein (Author of Turtle Boy)
Interview #172 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Bea is for Blended)
Interview #173 with Jess Redman (Author of The Adventure is Now)
Interview #174 with David Levithan (Author of The Mysterious Disappearance of Aiden)
Interview #175 with Chris Grabenstein (Author of The Smartest Kid in the Universe)
Interview #176 with Ali Standish (Author of The Mending Summer)
Interview #177 with Holly Goldberg Sloan (Author of The Elephant in the Room)
Interview #178 with Jeff Zentner (Author of In the Wild Light)
SEASON #ELEVEN (Fall/Winter 2021)
Interview #179 with Katherine Applegate (Author of Willow)
Interview #180 with Padma Venkatraman (Author of Born Behind Bars)
Interview #181 with R.J. Palacio (Author of Pony)
Interview #182 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Too Bright to See)
Interview #183 with Barbara Dee (Author of Violets are Blue)
Interview #184 with Anne Ursu (Author of The Troubled Girls of Dragonmir Academy)
Interview #185 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of We Could Be Heroes)
Interview #186 with Jasmine Warga (Author of Shape of Thunder)
Interview #187 with Joseph Bruchac (Author of Rez Dogs)
Interview #188 with Kathryn Erskine (Author of Lily's Promise)
Interview #189 with Elly Swartz (Author of Dear Student)
Interview #190 with Heather Clark (Author of Lemon Drop Falls)
Interview #191 with Veera Hiranandani (Author of How to Find What You're Not Looking For)
Interview #192 with Elizabeth Eulberg (Author of The Best Worst Summer)
Interview #193 with Cathy Carr (Author of 365 Days to Alaska)
Interview #194 with Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard (Authors of REAL)
Interview #195 with Gillian McDunn (Author of These Lucky Stars)
Interview #196 with Alyssa Colman (Author of The Gilded Girl)
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