An Inside Look with Kyle Lukoff
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
How did you come to know Bug?
While the details of Bug's life are far removed from mine, his internal emotional landscape is as close as I can get to describing my childhood and young adulthood. In writing him I worried that he would be too particular, too strange, for readers to relate to, but the number of people telling me that they see themselves in him tells me that as a child I wasn't as alone as I thought. I wish I could go back and tell myself that.
What do you think is Bug’s most admirable quality?
His willingness and comfort to not have all the answers right away.
Is there anything you wish they would have changed or done differently in their story?
No, but in the author's note I use a hypothetical to describe my childhood, like "When Kyle was little he lived in Chicago." I wish I had said "When Kyle was 5 years old he had a Wizard of Oz themed birthday party, where he dressed up as Dorothy."
What do you think Bug can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what they went through?
Perhaps some clarity? Perhaps some comfort? Perhaps some escape? But I spent enough time talking children through their responses to books to know that I cannot determine or predict what any reader will get out of it, nor should I try.
How did you research Bug and the circumstances they found them self in?
I did a bit of research on whether or not it's legal to scatter ashes on private land in Vermont, and asked some friends about how long it might take to ride your bike to a town from a house some number of miles away, but other than that I don't think I did much research.
What was the hardest scene to write about Bug?
It was hard to describe the ways that being a girl felt wrong to him without making it sound like things like dresses or makeup are bad. There's a word called "misogyny," which includes thinking that "girl" things are silly or unimportant, and I don't believe that at all! But I also believe that different people prefer different gender expressions, and that's okay, and it's okay to not like something that other people like. That was the hardest part to write.
Who do you think was Bug’s biggest supporter and why?
Uncle Roderick, obviously.
Why do you think some young people have the strength and courage to step out and be their true self; while others keep their truth hidden, live in fear, and hold on to secrets?
This question feels impossible to answer and also judgmental so I will not be answering it!
What do you think Bug is doing as the present time?
Well, pretending that the world he lives in doesn't have Covid, I guess he's getting ready for either eighth grade or high school. He's probably fine, or maybe he's stressing out about a crush he has, or maybe he and Moira had a big fight about something and he's figuring out what to do about it. But I have no idea, since every human's life is inherently unpredictable, and while Bug isn't a real person I still want to extend him the courtesy of pretending that he is.
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)
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