An Inside Look with Veera Hiranandani
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
How did you come to know Ariel?
Well, I created Ariel from a number of real influences in my life and my imagination. The book in general was inspired by my parents' decision to marry in 1968. My mother is Jewish American and my father is originally from India and is Hindu. My grandparents were against their marriage at first, but came around eventually. I also started thinking about the Supreme Court Loving v. Virginia ruling that happened a year before my parents got married and wondered what would have happened if they had wanted to get married in another state, a year before? I also wanted to explore the Jewish side of my family and that perspective. With my last book, The Night Diary, I was exploring the Indian side of my family more, but Ariel came into focus as a young Jewish girl living in Connecticut, where I grew up inter-faith and biracial in a community with very few Jews or Hindus. But I could relate to Ariel’s experience of feeling like one of the only Jewish kids in her class, with very few Jewish kids in her community.
What do you think is her most admirable quality?
Ariel has a lot of admirable qualities, though she would probably have a hard time answering that question. She is strong and wants to be in the center of her life, rather than living it in the more "invisible" way she often feels, but eventually she finds a way to make herself more seen and heard. She doesn't know how smart she is, but discovers that over time. She's creative and resourceful and a loyal friend and sister.
Is there anything you wish Ariel would have changed or done differently in her story?
That's an interesting question. It's hard for me to answer because I try to get to the point in the writing process where all the choices the main character is making feel inevitable to me as the writer.
What do you think she can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
I think Ariel would tell them to find people who really understand you and let them help you discover the best parts of yourself. Also trust your own instincts that you have about your world, not just what people are telling you. Ariel also has a learning difference called dysgraphia and she has to navigate that through the book. Often the things we think hold us back are pathways to our greatest strengths.
How did you research Ariel and the circumstances she found herself in?
Much of the story is based on aspects of my own family history, so talking to my parents, in-laws, other relatives and friends who lived through some of the events in 1967 in this country and how they reacted to them. I also read books, watched movies, and documentaries about The Supreme Court Loving ruling, and other books covering the late 60s.
Do you and she share any similarities?
Ariel and I both love to write, but weren't always seen as a "smart" student by standard educational assessments. We both have a sister. We both grew up in Connecticut. We are both Jewish. And we both love baking.
What was the hardest scene to write about Ariel?
There were a lot of hard scenes, but one of the hardest was actually a flash back when Ariel remembers something mean and anti-Semitic that a bully says to her. I wanted to get the balance right and have it be coming from an incident that actually happened to a family member, but I changed it a bit to fit the story and the characters.
Who do you think was her biggest supporter and why?
Eventually her friend Jane becomes that for her, but it takes them a while, and her sister is too.
Why do you think people are willing to cut ties with those they love the most based on the choices that person may have made?
Sometimes people like Ariel's parents who are upset about Leah's choice to marry outside her religion are acting from something their valued community or their family told them was the right thing to do. It's hard to step outside of that and truly think independently, but when people do, I think they often make more open-minded and loving choices.
What do you think Ariel is doing as the present time?
Well according to my calculations (and I had to get the calculator out for this one), Ariel would be 65. I hope she's a famous poet living her life exactly the way she wants to.
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)
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) f
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)
