ReadWonder: An Inside Look #254 (Author INTERVIEW)

An Inside Look with Andrea Beatriz Arango

(Author of SOMETHING LIKE HOME)

*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 SECOND interview in which I'm calling Season #SIXTEEN.

*Thank you to Andrea Beatriz Arango for being the Two Hundred Fifty-Fourth author I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.

Something Like Home

by Andrea Beatriz Arango

(September 12, 2023)

How did you come to know Laura?
Because of my work as a teacher, my time volunteering with non-profit after school clubs, and my years as a foster parent, I have known many kids and teens in similar situations to Laura's. Unfortunately, a lot of books that have to do with foster and kinship care tend to paint the kids' parents in a really negative light. I knew I wanted to write a book that showed a kid who really wanted to go back home plus parents who loved her and wanted her back as well. Everyone in this book is just doing their best!

What do you think is her most admirable quality?
I think Laura's best quality is her genuine love for those around her. A big part of the book is Laura discovering what family means to her, what community means to her, and allowing herself to form relationships even when she's scared of how temporary or how permanent they might be.

Is there anything you wish she would have changed or done differently in her story?
I don't think so. Laura deals with the aftermath of a lot of choices in the book-- some her own and some other people's. At the end of the day, she is just trying to figure out how to move forward from each of these choices, and that means sometimes doing or saying what she later believes is the wrong thing.

What do you think Laura can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
Foster care is so scary. Even when the person taking care of you is a relative or a family friend. I hope that Laura can help readers not feel as alone in their experience, and can encourage them to form new connections even as they keep rooting for their own families to go back to the way they were.

How did you research Laura and the circumstances she found herself in?
Like I said before, I have fostered several children myself, though they were all older than Laura. In addition, I am now a CASA volunteer, just like Brenda is in the book! So for this particular book, I didn't do a ton of research, because I've read a lot about foster care already in my years doing it, as well as met many kids who have experienced it first hand. Though if you're an adult who wants to learn more, I read the nonfiction We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America this year and it was excellent.

Do you and Laura share any similarities?
We both love dogs and graphic novels! Every graphic novel that Laura reads in the book is one that I have read and loved myself. And Sparrow is actually based on one of my dogs :-)

What was the hardest scene to write about her?
The scene where Laura's mom shows up at her school. It made me cry. It was hard to write because I knew how awful and conflicted I was making Laura feel, but also because as an adult, I totally understood why her mom would come see her, but also how negatively it could impact her case.

Who do you think was her biggest supporter and why?
Everyone in this book does their best to support Laura, but Benson is my personal favorite. He is the perfect example of how kids can support each other even when they've never experienced what the other person has gone through.

Why do you think some young people, like Laura, show such strength, determination, and resilience during difficult situations in their own life?
I think a lot of factors contributed to Laura being the way she was. Before she went to live with her aunt, Laura was already doing a lot of things independently because she knew she couldn't always count on her parents to be there. And so in some ways, what she had to learn in this book wasn't how to be stronger or more resilient, but how to trust in and accept help from other people. Which is still a strength, but one that Laura certainly wasn't used to.

What do you think Laura is doing at the present time?
I see her back at home with her parents! I would love to write a sequel one day in which she transitions back to living with them, while still keeping Titi Silvia and Benson in her life. Transitions like that can be just as challenging as what Laura goes through in this book.

Book Pages

Monday, September 11, 2023

An Inside Look #254 (Author INTERVIEW)

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