An Inside Look with Melanie Conklin
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
How did you come to know Max?
The first time I thought of Max, I’d just talked my son through a pretty low moment when he’d forgotten something important (which we all do, but as a kid with ADHD, this hit harder for him), and I thought to myself how easy it is to blame ourselves for things that go wrong. Especially for people with ADHD. That’s when I thought of this sensitive, artistic sixth grader named Max, who’s too tall for his age, and has ADHD, and whom everyone holds to impossible standards.
What do you think is his most admirable quality?
Max is as loyal as the sunrise. Part of what’s so hard for him in this situation is that Max blames himself for running away the night his friend Will got hurt. He feels tremendous guilt because he’s such a loyal person, and hearing the blame from his friend Joey is crushing. I am also a loyal friend. We wear our hearts on our sleeves.
Is there anything you wish he would have changed or done differently in his story?
I try to be honest with myself and my characters about how they would really behave in a given moment, because readers count on me to show those truths on the page. Our complicated choices are what make us relatable and real as human beings. I stand by Max’s choices, though I do sometimes wish he would’ve told his parents earlier about the tension happening at his friend Joey’s house. Sometimes, though, we have to wait until we know for sure in order to take action.
What do you think Max can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what he went through?
Hopefully, readers find a lot to relate to in Max. Max is like all sixth graders in that he’s trying to find his place in a new school and with new friends. We’ve all been there, and it’s not easy! One of the tools Max uses to navigate these changes is the “user manual" he creates with his therapist full of strategies that work for Max. I hope every reader leaves this story inspired to write their own manual!
How did you research Max and the circumstances he found himself in?
Max’s situation is more common that you’d think…often, communities face tragedies and must band together to get through them. I researched stories of young people whose lives were at risk, whether from coma or other injury, as well as the way that communities respond in those situations, particularly Jewish communities. My children attended a local synagogue for preschool, and I always found the Jewish community to be unfailingly generous and welcoming, especially in times of need. I wanted to show that same response in Max’s town. I am fortunate to live in such a supportive community.
Do you and Max share any similarities?
In some ways, my characters are always like me, but I’d say Max is the farthest I’ve strayed from my own perspective and personality traits. I relate very much to the anxiety that Max experiences as a result of the trauma he’s been through, and his ADHD. We are both slow to draw conclusions and share them with others. I’m a very slow processor! Sometimes it takes me a couple of days before I realize what I should have said or done in a particular moment. Max and I both have to work on being kind to ourselves about that!
What was the hardest scene to write about him?
The hardest scene for me to write in A PERFECT MISTAKE was the scene when Max sees his friend Will in the hospital for the first time. Anyone who has been to visit someone who is very sick can relate. Hospitals are full of helpers who can be reassuring, but the machines and sounds and smells can be unfamiliar and scary. This moment relate back to COUNTING THYME for me, which is still very close to my heart.
Who do you think was his biggest supporter and why?
I have a big soft spot in my heart for Max’s Uncle Cal. He’s the kind of character who you like upon meeting, but it takes a while to peel the layers back and figure out who he really is. Cal isn’t perfect by any stretch—no one is—but he’s got a heart of gold, and I think Max learns a lot from him over the course of the story. The book is all about male friendship in its various forms, both positive and negative, and the many tough choices boys face about what kind of person they want to be.
Why do you think some young people, like Max, struggle with knowing what is right to do in their heart and what they might do to please others around them?
Don’t we all struggle to do what’s right at times? Human existence is so complicated! There are often short term and long term consequences for our choices, and it can be so hard to wrap your mind around them and make a quick choice. I often freeze. I want people to like me, so that encourages me to do or say things I might not actually agree with, and sometimes I catch myself doing that! Max, like all of us, has to learn what his inner compass says. With the impulsivity that accompanies ADHD, that’s even harder for Max to do, so he also has to learn the power of forgiveness—especially for himself.
What do you think Max is doing as the present time?
Oh, it’s summer so Max is definitely swimming all day long and playing video games with his friends!
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)
Interview #197 with E.L. Chen (Author of The Comeback)
Interview #198 with J.M.M. Nuanez (Author of Birdie and Me)
SEASON #TWELVE (Winter/Spring 2022)
Interview #199 with Jamie Sumner (Author of One Kid's Trash)
Interview #200 with Chad Lucas (Author of Thanks a Lot, Universe)
Interview #201 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Where We Used to Roam)
Interview #202 with Rebecca Caprara (Author of Worst-Case Collin)
Interview #203 with Leslie Connor (Author of Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?)
Interview #204 with Caroline Gertler (Author of Many Points of Me)
Interview #205 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of Susie B. Won't Back Down)
Interview #206 with Shawn Peters (Author of The Unforgettable Logan Foster)
Interview #207 with Aisha Saeed (Author of Omar Rising)
Interview #208 with Adrianna Cuevas (Author of Cuba in my Pocket)
Interview #209 with Jennifer Swender (Author of Stuck)
Interview #210 with Brenda Woods (Author of When Winter Robeson Came)
Interview #211 with Danya Lorentz (Author of the Book Of a Feather)
Interview #212 with Saadia Faruqi (Author of Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero)
Interview #213 with Ellen Hopkins (Author of What About Will)
SEASON #THIRTEEN (Summer 2022)
Interview #214 with Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner (Authors of What About the Octopus)
Interview #215 with Lauren Wolk (Author of My Own Lightning)
Interview #216 with Rebekah Lowell (Author of the Road to After)
Interview #217 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Honestly Elliott)
Interview #218 with Dan Gemeinhart (Author of The Midnight Children)
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