An Inside Look with Lindsey Stoddard
(Author of Just Like Jackie)
*During the summer of 2016, I added this feature to my blog which was called "Season #ONE". This first season ran from June of 2016 to March of 2017.
*I started up the interviews again in June of 2017. It was great to get back to Season #TWO. This season ran throughout the summer.
*Season #THREE ran during the school year of 2017/2018.
*I started up the interviews again in June of 2017. It was great to get back to Season #TWO. This season ran throughout the summer.
*Season #THREE ran during the school year of 2017/2018.
*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" about their novel, characters, and thoughts about the story.
*This is the Sixteenth interview of what I'm calling Season #FOUR.
*Thank you to Lindsey Stoddard for being the Sixty-Seventh author that I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.
*Here are links to the first Sixty-Six interviews…
SEASON #ONE
SEASON #TWO
Interview#38 with Terri Libenson (Author of Invisible Emmie)
Interview#39 with Tony Abbott (Author of The Summer of Owen Todd)
Interview #40 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Perfect Score)
Interview#39 with Tony Abbott (Author of The Summer of Owen Todd)
Interview #40 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Perfect Score)
SEASON #FOUR
Interview #54 with Jonathan Auxier (Author of Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster)
Interview #55 with Sharon Creech (Author of Saving Winslow)
Interview #56 with Stacy McAnulty (Author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl)
Interview #57 with Kelly Yang (Author of Front Desk)
Interview #58 with Jennifer A. Nielsen (Author of Resistance)
Interview 59 with Christina Collins (Author of After Zero)
Interview #60 with Eric Walters (Author of Elephant Secrets)
Interview #61 with Phil Bildner (Author of The Rip and Red Series)
Interview #62 with Erin Soderberg (Author of Milla in Charge)
Interview #63 with Laura Shovan (Author of Take Down)
Interview #64 with Donna Gephart (Author of In Your Shoes)
Interview #65 with Alan Gratz (Author of Grenade)
Interview #66 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Wonderland)
*Looking back on the year and some of my favorite middle-grade novels, this certainly ranks right up there. I absolutely loved the story and could relate to it on many levels. It not only was a tremendous story, but one that hit home. I'm so pleased that Lindsay agreed to do an interview on this important novel.
*Lindsey was kind, gracious, and giving with her answers to the questions. It is an honor to post her responses here on the blog.
*Here is a link to my review of the book...
*Thank you Lindsey Stoddard for writing this book...
Just Like Jackie
by Lindsey Stoddard (January 2, 2018)
How did you come to know Robbie?
Through her voice. I don't ever start writing until I really clearly hear a character first. I listen and listen and talk about her like she lives right with my family in our house, and then I even start talking like her myself. When I started regularly saying, "Before I know it..." and "That feels pretty OK..." I knew I was ready to get my butt in the chair, pull out my notebook, and start writing.
What do you think is Robbie's most admirable quality?
What do you think is Robbie's most admirable quality?
Her loyalty. Robbie is her grandpa's right hand and she goes through great lengths to protect his feelings and his dignity. I love how she reaches over him to turn on the turn signals so he can find their way back home. I love that she slowly starts taking over all the parts of the macaroni and cheese making. That she has him rest his hand on her shoulder while she guides him through the woods. She's loyal to Derek too, and Harold, and to all the people on her "tree."
Is there anything you wish Robbie would have changed or done differently in her story?
Is there anything you wish Robbie would have changed or done differently in her story?
I suppose Robbie has some pretty unsavory ways of dealing with her anger at first. I wish she didn't have to punch and shove Alex, but I knew Robbie, and I knew she had to, at least in the beginning. Her rage boils fast and hot and I just knew that she'd lash out, especially when Alex pokes at her tender spots-- family. Throughout the book she practices way to manage her anger, but I don't expect that she won't slip up again, sometime, especially as things get tougher with her grandpa.
What do you think Robbie can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
What do you think Robbie can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
Robbie learns that some challenging experiences won't ever be solved. Grandpa's memory won't get better. In fact, it's going to get worse and he won't be able to take care of her anymore. Even though she learns that hard lesson, she also learns that things can be "pretty OK" too, and that she has more family than she thinks, because family isn't just who you get, it's also who you find, and who you keep. I hope that children who find themselves in tough situations can find a way to be "pretty OK" by leaning on the people who are their family.
How did you research Robbie and the circumstances she found herself in?
How did you research Robbie and the circumstances she found herself in?
I first used my own experience growing up with a grandpa with alzheimer's. I remembered the way it felt when he forgot the end of his sentence, not knowing if I should finish it for him, or change the subject, or just pat his hand and say it's OK. I spent a lot of time tapping into those memories with him to create the feelings Robbie experiences. Also, my mom works for an assisted living community with dedicated spaces for people with alzheimer's so I know a fair amount about how the disease typically begins and progresses.
Do you and Robbie share any similarities?
Do you and Robbie share any similarities?
I was tomboy-ish like Robbie, and loved being outside and sugaring with my grandpa. While I was feisty, I didn't have her issues with anger. I would have been horrified to be called to the principal's office! In order to create her anger authentically, I reached back to one time that I felt red-hot rage as a kid-- a time when a neighborhood boy wound up and swung his whiffle ball bat at a nest of robin's eggs in a tree in my backyard. I was watching that nest, waiting for the robins to hatch. And I just might have had a similar reaction to this neighborhood boy as Robbie had with Alex on page one.
What was the hardest scene to write about Robbie?
What was the hardest scene to write about Robbie?
The scene that comes to mind is the one where Robbie gets in trouble for the second time at school and Grandpa has to pick her up and bring her home. She is mad at Grandpa for not letting her go to the shop to fix cars and for making her go right home to write an apology to Alex. She pushes the paper off the table and crosses her arms and is acting in such an age-appropriate fury. Grandpa goes outside to chop wood and that makes her even more mad because she wants to help. Then in a moment she realizes that it's getting dark and she's not hearing the sound of the ax anymore and she runs to find Grandpa, who has wondered into the woods behind their house. It breaks my heart how quickly Robbie has to abandon her typical kid behavior and become responsible and caring and apologetic. She takes the weight of her Grandpa's memory on her shoulders as she leads him back through the trees to their home.
Who do you think was Robbie's biggest supporter and why?
Who do you think was Robbie's biggest supporter and why?
This is a great question! She is lucky to have so many supportive people in her life, and I'm glad that by the end she recognizes them as part of her "tree." I think I'll go with Derek, though. He's been on her team and loyal since before the first chapter and right there through Robbie's hardest times to offer just a tap of his shoe to hers beneath the classroom desk that Robbie knows means he is right there for her.
Why do you young people, like Robbie, can handle life’s difficult situations (Alzheimer’s) better than adults sometimes can?
Sidenote: My two own children navigated this difficult journey with my mom with grace, courage, and strength.
Why do you young people, like Robbie, can handle life’s difficult situations (Alzheimer’s) better than adults sometimes can?
Sidenote: My two own children navigated this difficult journey with my mom with grace, courage, and strength.
Boy, I don't know. Robbie doesn't always handle the stress of her situation with grace and courage, she sometimes handles it with her fists and has to learn how to better manage. I do know, however, from teaching middle school for ten years, that kids are incredibly resilient and honest and they allow for really really big feelings to overtake them. Sometimes that comes across as "middle school drama" but it's also pretty refreshing and exciting to see such honest emotions so big and out loud.
What do you think Robbie is doing as the present time?
I think about Robbie often! I imagine that she's still with Grandpa and their nurse, Katie, at home. She is getting a little better at allowing Katie to take over some of the responsibilities she took on, like making dinner and making sure Grandpa doesn't misuse the stove, or helping him remember which comes first, socks or shoes. She knows what's on the horizon, but she knows it's a "pretty OK" situation.
What do you think Robbie is doing as the present time?
I think about Robbie often! I imagine that she's still with Grandpa and their nurse, Katie, at home. She is getting a little better at allowing Katie to take over some of the responsibilities she took on, like making dinner and making sure Grandpa doesn't misuse the stove, or helping him remember which comes first, socks or shoes. She knows what's on the horizon, but she knows it's a "pretty OK" situation.
No comments:
Post a Comment