ReadWonder: An Inside Look #232 (Author INTERVIEW)

An Inside Look with Margaret Finnegan

(Author of New Kids & Under Dogs)

*Season #ONE (June of 2016 to March of 2017)

*Season #TWO (Summer of 2017)

*Season #THREE (School Year 2017/2018)

*Season #FOUR (Summer/fall of 2018)

*Season #FIVE (School Year 2018/2019)

*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)

*Season #SEVEN (Fall 2019)

*Season #EIGHT (Winter/Spring 2020)

*Season #NINE (Fall 2020)

*Season #TEN (Winter/Spring 2021)

*Season #ELEVEN (Fall 2021)

*Season #TWELVE (Winter/Spring 2022)

*Season #THIRTEEN (Summer 2022)

*I'm excited to present season #FOURTEEN with brand new interviews/authors.

*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" about their novel, characters, and thoughts about the story.

*This is the SIXTH interview in which I'm calling Season #FOURTEEN.

*Thank you to Margaret for being the Two Hundred Thirty-Second author I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.

New Kids & Under Dogs

by Margaret Finnegan

(October 25, 2022)

How did you come to know Robyn?
In many ways, I was Robyn. I moved frequently as a child. I was very self-reliant, but I could also have anxiety about making friends. I just never knew people long enough to really get to know or trust them. But that also made it hard to write about Robyn. Because we aren’t the same person. So I needed to find a way to understand Robyn’s issues without confusing them with my own.

What do you think is her most admirable quality?
Once she’s your friend, she is true blue. You can see that in her passionate commitment to her dogs.

Is there anything you wish she would have changed or done differently in her story?
Oh, Patrick! It is always the same with me. I like kids who make bad choices. It’s how they learn! So I wish Robyn had done just about everything differently. Mostly, I wish she could have abandoned her rules earlier and just tried to be herself.

What do you think she can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
This book shines a mirror on what it’s like to be a perpetual new kid, but it also shows that just about every kid is going through their own challenges. No matter who reads this book, I hope they can begin to see that to truly connect with others, we have to first see past ourselves.

How did you research Robyn and the circumstances she found herself in?
Well, I have to admit. I can be a bit lazy. I often try to draw from what I already know. As I mentioned, I was a perpetual new kid, like Robyn. Likewise, some years ago I took agility dog training lessons with my dog Scout. I loved it so much, and I knew I would have to get it into a story one day.

Do you and Robyn share any similarities?
Like Robyn, I am very adaptable. I like that about us. Not everyone can adapt easily to change. When you can, life can be a bit easier.

What was the hardest scene to write about Robyn?
It was hard to write about Robyn icing out Nestor, Jonathan, and Alejandra. She just was not being her best self. But perpetual new kids can excel at icing people out. Their experience has taught them to move on from relationships and not look back. To be honest to that experience, I needed to write about it.

Who do you think was her biggest supporter and why?
Despite all the changes she’s had to adapt too, Robyn has had the constant love of her parents—even though her dad lives far away. Of course, she also has the constant, unwavering loyalty of her dogs. She is very lucky in these ways.

Why do you think some young people, like Robyn, are able to problem solve for themselves while depending on their own ideas; while others can’t and rely on adults?
I don’t know about all young people, but I think Robyn can problem solve by herself because she has had to. She has moved a lot. She has traveled across the country by herself in visits to her dad. She struggles with math, but she is an otherwise good student. She is competent at many things, and competency breeds confidence and a faith in one’s own abilities. Where she is less competent—making lasting friends—she is simply less experienced. She has never lived anywhere long enough to make a lasting friend. So, of course, it’s hard!

What do you think Robyn is doing at the present time?
Easy! She is out there doing “Ability” training with her friends and dogs. And she is having a great time.

Book Pages

Monday, October 24, 2022

An Inside Look #232 (Author INTERVIEW)

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