An Inside Look with Sally J. Pla
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
How did you come to know Maudie?
I feel as if I have always known Maudie! Not her particular family circumstances or experiences—those are fictional—but the essential inner core of her, how she reacts to her challenges, how she behaves, many of her autistic sensibilities.
However, a more nuanced answer may be that she was shaped by the sound of her own voice. I seem to always start by listening hard for a character’s voice, hoping for something unique in it. If a certain special rhythm and tone appears, that helps reveal the character to me. I know that sounds kind of strange and backwards. Anyhow, Maudie’s voice, as it came into focus, seemed halting and pensive, I thought, here is a girl with perhaps a small glitch—a slight auditory processing delay. So Maudie’s voice started to trail off into short, open verse format – thoughts with a lot of space around them. It became a prose-and-verse novel, because that mirrors how she thinks.
What do you think is her most admirable quality?
Maudie has an innate, natural goodness and caring about others that (I hope) shines through everywhere, despite her different struggles and predicaments.
Is there anything you wish she would have changed or done differently in her story?
There are probably several things that compassionate readers will wish Maudie did differently! For instance: Why is Maudie protecting her untrustworthy mom? Why can’t she just confide her troubles to her safe, good, beloved dad?
But family bonds are complicated. It takes a while to work up the courage to speak, especially when you’re a rule-follower who’s been forbidden to. And speaking and articulating doesn’t come easily to Maudie, in general.
What do you think she can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
Unfortunately, more children go through what Maudie went through than we can possibly imagine. Especially children with any type of disabilities.
When we meet Maudie, she’s on summer reprieve from her new stepdad’s anger and her mother’s inability to protect her. And she learns that despite rocky circumstances everywhere, there are people in the world who value her. She gains courage, makes her first true friend. She ventures into the first waves of a better life.
A big part of her growth is in learning to speak up for herself. And there are people out there who will listen, care, help.
When you are in a situation that is dysfunctional, when you are trapped within the opaque bubble of that, you don’t know anything different. You accept, because as a kid, you are dependent, and what else do you know? You don’t know any other way. Maudie discovers– and hopefully, the young readers who need her, will discover through her – that you don’t have to accept the unacceptable. The whole world actually isn’t an opaque bubble.
Do you and Maudie share any similarities?
All the characters in this story are purely fictional and do not represent any living person. But I have been the victim of abuse. And, like Maudie, I had a hard time processing it and understanding what to do. I’m probably still processing it.
Who do you think was her biggest supporter and why?
Maudie has SO MANY wonderful supporters, once she gets to the ocean: her surf-guru mentor Etta, her new friend Padmini, campsite community friends Naldo, Begoña, Max, and the Silver Surfers...
But certainly her incredible dad is her biggest, most loyal, most loving supporter of all. And this summer, Maudie learns something about her dad that brings them even closer.
Why do you think parents approach their own children in such different ways from each other which maybe forces their child to be one way with one parent and a different way with the second parent?
There is a passage in the story where Maudie says:
“I try hard to be the right kind of Maudie for each situation, for each thing.
I’ve always felt sort of ashamed of this, but maybe it’s also a skill.
To remold, instead of shatter.”
If a parent—even a loving one—conveys to child that they are something to be handled, managed, fixed, the child will pick up on that. They will feel their wrongness, feel guilt about their disability, feel worthless.
But if a parent can accept a child as she is, and learn to respect and enjoy her, the child’s true self will shine. And then, maybe, just maybe, some of those problems will start to fix themselves.
What do you think Maudie is doing at the present time?
In my imaginations, she is a beautiful grownup who runs a local nonprofit, teaching disabled kids to face their fears, love the ocean, and experience the joy of surfing.
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)
Interview #219 with Melanie Conklin (Author of A Perfect Mistake)
Interview #220 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Different Kinds of Fruit)
Interview #221 with Tracy Edward Wymer (Author of The Great and Mighty Benjamin Teller)
Interview #222 with Louise Hawes (Author of Big Rig)
Interview #223 with Paul Acampora (Author of In Honor of Broken Things)
Interview #224 with Shannon Doleski (Author of Gabe in the After)
Interview #225 with Jennifer Ziegler (Author of Worser)
Interview #226 with Natalie Lloyd (Author of Hummingbird)
SEASON #FOURTEEN (Fall 2022)
Interview #227 with Celia C. Perez (Author of Tumble
Interview #228 with Greg Howard (Author of The Visitors)
Interview #229 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Daredevils)
Interview #230 with Sashi Kaufman (Author of Sardines)
Interview #231 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of The Real Deal)
Interview #232 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of New Kids and Underdogs)
Interterview #233 with Amanda Rawson Hill (Author of The Hope of Elephants)
Interview #234 with Jasmine Warga (Author of A Rover's Story)
SEASON #FIFTEEN (Winter/Spring 2023)
Interview #235 with Varsha Bajaj (Author of Thirst)
Interview #236 with Torrey Maldonado (Author of Hands)
Interview #237 with C.C. Harrington (Author of Wildoak)
Interview #238 with Margi Preus (Author of Windswept)
Interview #239 with Dayna Lorentz (Author of Wayward Creatures)
Interview #240 with Katrina Nannestad (Author of We are Wolves)
Interview #241 with Anika Fajardo (Author of Meet Me Halfway)
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