ReadWonder: An Inside Look #253 (Author Interview)

An Inside Look with Sarah Everett

(Author of THE PROBABILITY of EVERYTHING)

*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)

*Season #FOURTEEN (Fall 2022)

*Season #FIFTEEN (Winter/Spring 2023)

*I'm excited to present season #SIXTEEN 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 FIRST interview in which I'm calling Season #SIXTEEN.

*Thank you to Sarah Everett for being the Two Hundred Fifty-Third author I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.

The Probability of Everything

by Sarah Everett

(June 27, 2023)

How did you come to know Kemi?
As a character, Kemi came to me fully formed. I was lucky to hear her “voice” right from the start, which isn’t always the case for me when I'm writing. I knew pretty quickly the way she would speak and the things she would like and dislike. Her character shares many similarities with my childhood self — we were (and are!) both science-loving kids with close-knit Nigerian families.

What do you think is her most admirable quality?

I love how she sees the world. Kemi’s world is hopeful, complex and predictable (except when it isn’t), and she has so much faith in facts and probability. Most of all, though, I think she is far more resilient and able to cope with change than she knows.

Is there anything you wish she would have changed or done differently in her story?
You know, sometimes the adult in me wishes she would have leaned a little more on her mother — that they might have found their way to each other earlier in the story as the world was ending for both of them. Kemi obviously has a very close relationship with her father, but I think she could have found a lot of strength in her mother too.

What do you think Kemi can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?

I hope Kemi reminds all of us that what makes the world safe is not actually fact or science or probability, but the strength we carry inside ourselves and our ability to change and grow. I also think coping with the end of the world by doing research and focusing on memories (in her case, making a time capsule) are two great strategies for dealing with change or uncertainty.

How did you research Kemi and the circumstances she found herself in?

Most of my research went into the facts dispersed throughout the book. I learned a lot about random things like the birth rates of twins, gritstone, and of course asteroids. Thankfully, information like the difference between an asteroid and a meteor is easy to find online with just a quick search. (Fun fact: An asteroid is a Sun-orbiting rocky object. A piece of an asteroid or comet is called a meteoroid, and a meteoroid becomes a meteor when it enters Earth’s atmosphere.)

Do you and Kemi share any similarities?
Absolutely! I, too, love a good fact. I’m very interested in science. I grew up around Nigerian customs and didn’t always know where I fit in them. And, like Kemi, I’m very close with my family.

What was the hardest scene to write about her?
Without spoiling anything, I think the second half of the book was a lot more difficult to write than the first. Some of those later scenes are very emotional. If you’ve read the book, you probably know what I mean!

Who do you think was Kemi’s biggest supporter and why?

Kemi’s biggest supporter is definitely her dad! He calls her “Grit” so she always remembers her strength. He gives her statistics problems to solve for fun. I hope we all have someone who loves us as unconditionally as Kemi’s dad loves her.

Why do you think some young people, like Kemi, create alternative versions of their “reality” to cope and deal with difficult life situations?

That’s a great question. The idea that reality can be difficult to accept was really the starting point for Probability: what if something so incredible (good or bad) happened that you literally couldn’t wrap your mind around it?

We create alternate realities to cope all the time, not just during times of trauma. Young kids often invent imaginary friends when they are lonely. Even as adults we might pretend to have more friends than we do or pretend to have certain hobbies, or like things we don’t, to fit in. Social media is a great example of people creating realities that aren’t true, and the reason we do it might be so that we don’t have to accept the things we don’t like. It might also be a way of slowly learning to accept difficult things. Sometimes it takes time before you feel ready to face the truth.

What do you think Kemi is doing at the present time?
Ooh! Kemi is definitely in middle school, where she’s doing great in all her classes (though her art skills are yet-to-be-determined). She still loves probability and science, but she is also learning to embrace the fact that life can be uncertain. She remains best friends with Dia, who is closer to being a famous fashion designer today than she was yesterday. Kemi is a great big sister to Lo and Zaria, and she’s honoring her family every day by choosing to stand up against violence and injustice.

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Monday, September 4, 2023

An Inside Look #253 (Author Interview)

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