An Inside Look with R.J. Palacio
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
How did you come to know Silas?
My older son had a dream once, which he described with lots of vivid details, and in the dream was a boy in the “Old West,” about his age, whose face was half-covered in blood. (It was a scary dream!) There was something about that imagery that stuck with me. I started thinking about what could have caused a boy in the Old West to have a face half-covered in blood, and the story of Silas started forming in my head.
What do you think is his most admirable quality?
I love that Silas finds his courage along the way. He has a lot of fears, which he freely admits to—he’s afraid of trees, he’s afraid of heights, he’s afraid of being alone—but over the course of his journey, he faces all his fears to do what he needs to do.
What do you think Silas can offer to children who are experiencing similar situations?
I think Silas learns that he’s not alone. Even though he feels like he is, many different times in the book, people come into his life just when he needs them. It’s scary for him, being alone, but he opens himself up to allowing the universe to help him along the way. Sometimes we have to trust that things are going to work out and forge ahead—even if we have to change our plans a bit down the road. I love that Silas begins his journey without a firm sense of where it will lead him, but he does it out of love.
How did you research Silas and the circumstances he found himself in?
I read a lot of books from that time period, a time when people were less connected than they are today. Geographical distances meant that people didn’t communicate with one another as easily as they do now, and science and news and art took longer to spread around the world. As a result, certain ways of communicating, like newspapers and books, had an even larger impact than they do now. Silas spent a lot of time reading, and that helped form the foundation of who he is and what holds meaning for him.
Do you and Silas share any similarities?
Yes, for sure. We like the same kind of books. I love Greek mythology and legends of King Arthur. Adventure stories. I can be more fearful than I let on, because I try to push myself to find the courage to do things. But don’t get me to try to leap across an abyss, because I’m terrible with heights! I also love horses.
What was the hardest scene to write about him?
I don’t want to give anything away to readers who haven’t read the book yet, but the scene in the cave, after the gunfight, was very hard for me to write.
Who do you think was his biggest supporter and why?
That’s a tough question, because I really believe that Silas has a lot of people looking after him. His father, obviously, has always looked out for him and loves him so completely and tenderly. Mittenwool is like a big brother to him and is protective and kind. I believe his mother has always looked out for him, too, even though she died on the day he was born.
Why do you think humans and animals have such special connections?
Anyone who loves animals will tell you that they can feel our feelings sometimes. They can sniff them out, or somehow intuit when we’re sad or scared. They know when we’re excited and happy. As to why they have this connection with us, I don’t know. (Literally, as I’m answering this question, my dog Beau is pushing my arm away from the keyboard to pet him.)
What do you think Silas is doing now?
I like to think that Silas has lived a full and amazing life and has never felt as lost and alone as he felt when he went in search of his father in the woods. I think, having known that kind of loneliness, he’s going to do everything he can to not let other children feel that way. He’s a truly good-hearted human being, that Silas. I love him so much.
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 2021)
Interview #179 with Katherine Applegate (Author of Willow)
Interview #180 with Padma Venkatraman (Author of Born Behind Bars)
