Posts Tagged 9/11

Interview with Lauren Tarshis, author of the super popular I SURVIVED series, now with a new 9/11 graphic novel

By on July 26, 2021   /   Author Interviews  

I SURVIVED: THE ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

Photo Credit: David Dreyfuss

Lauren Tarshis is the author of the New York Times bestselling I Survived series of which there are 20 and counting! Each of these historical fiction books focuses on an iconic event from history, and tells the story through the eyes of a child who was there. The theme of the series is resilience: how human beings can struggle through even the most difficult experiences and somehow not simply survive but heal — and ultimately thrive. Now in time for the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, the bestselling I Survived the Attacks of September 11 has been adapted to graphic novel format to become I SURVIVED: THE ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, written by Lauren and illustrated with a gorgeous, realistic and contemporary art style by Corey Egbert. The Mixed-Up Files is excited to welcome Lauren Tarshis to our blog.

 

Meira: Hi Lauren, thanks so much for joining us over on The Mixed-Up Files!
The original I Survived the Attacks of September 11 was first published in 2012. What was the impetus to adapting it into a graphic novel in 2021?

Lauren: Scholastic proposed the idea of transforming my series into graphic novels, and at first I didn’t understand their reasoning. The stories were already written, right? But I trust the Scholastic team so much — my editor Katie Woehr cares as much about my series as I do, and understands how much work, care, and LOVE I put into creating each book, taking complicated topics and trying to make them accessible to kids, and bringing my characters to life for my readers. And so I green-lighted the Titanic graphic novel, which was an incredible experience. Fortunately Scholastic was able to hire Georgia Ball to write the scripts, and she captures my stories so perfectly for this format. And the artists they have chosen create such glorious worlds for my books. What a joy it’s been — first Titanic, then Shark Attacks, and most recently I Survived the Nazi Invasion. September 11 was a natural choice because of the anniversary. And what I’ve realized is that these books make my stories accessible to an entirely different audience of readers, including kids who either don’t like to read or struggle to read. And this is so exciting to me.

Meira: In I SURVIVED: THE ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 one really feels like they are there. At the end in an Author’s Note you talk about how you lived in New York at the time but was en route from a trip abroad without your children, and your own personal terror at not being with them as you were rerouted back to London. Having been in New York on that fateful day myself, with my husband who worked in the World Financial Center, I really felt how well you capture the city, the mood, and what happened. I love the choice to tell the story through the eyes of a boy whose father is a firefighter. It’s a brilliant choice as the firefighters are such heroes in the fabric of New York City—even before this act of terrorism, —and so many of their lives were tragically lost. Did you consider other eyes from which to tell the story before settling on Lucas’s?

Lauren: Thank you so much for these kind words. I actually struggled through several drafts of this book before I realized that ultimately this book wasn’t just about September 11, but about an NYFD family. I started from scratch, delved into the culture and history of the NYFD, and also created a pretty “big” front story of Lucas dealing with concussions and the loss of football as a focus and a way of coping with his father’s injury from a warehouse fire years before. The size and depth of the character’s front story varies depending on the nature of the historical event I’m writing about. 9/11 is so intense and aspects are so complicated and potentially overwhelming for young readers. Focusing on other aspects of Lucas’s life enabled me to tell the story in a way that was appropriate for my younger readers.

Meira: How do you conduct research for the books in which there is less of a personal connection and you are not immediately familiar with the setting, time period and community? How do you put yourself into the shoes of a child through which you tell the story?

Lauren: I travel to all of the places I write about (with the exception of the bottom of the North Atlantic to see the Titanic wreckage and to the shores of Japan to research the 2011 tsunami). I want to walk in my characters’ footsteps, see and feel what they are feeling. For 9/11, of course, this was easier because I grew up in CT, went to college in NYC and work in NYC. Those two towers were part of my own landscape. But for other settings, those visited are so important. Another important step in researching the books is talking to people who actually experienced the event, or who have had stories passed down, or reading diaries of letters.

Meira: Can you talk a little bit about the themes of the I Survived series—on one hand kids have a lurid fascination with disaster, on the other hand your books offer a strong sense of resilience, which in this current time seems more important than ever. How do you achieve this balance?

Lauren: This is a great question. The theme of the series is resilience and healing — I try not portray a realistic sense of how we cope with loss, how we can slowly heal, how we can help each other and ask for help. But I’m also trying to write engaging adventure stories that kids — including struggling readers — will read. Finally, I want to build their knowledge in history, science, or important cultural touchstones and references points. I would say that I give equal weight to these three strands of the series.

Meira: What was it like to see your words come to life in this way? Authors whose books are turned into movies are often asked how it feels to see their characters with specific features, and their story acted out. What is it like to see your story told in this graphic format?

Lauren: I do feel that the experience of the graphic novels has been akin to seeing my books turned into an animated series. It’s been wonderful — because the team has done such a superb job. I’ve been dazzled by all of the artists who have worked on the series, and Corey Egbert was such a fantastic choice for this book.

Meira: I read an interview with you in which you mention how you started the series for your son and as an answer to reluctant readers. Can you talk a little bit about that here in light of this now being a graphic novel. (And I ask as the mother of two sons who find even short text tedious, especially if the font is small, but will devour anything in graphic format regardless of font size.)

Lauren: I so related to your boys, because not only were my boys reluctant readers but I struggled to read. And so these are the readers I’m picturing as I’m writing the books, and these are the readers I’m hoping will especially love the graphic novels.

Meira: Are there plans for more of the series to become graphic novels? Or for new I Survived books?

Lauren: We just finished I Survived the Grizzly Attacks, 1967, and the team is working on I Survived Hurricane Katrina. There are more planned after that, but we haven’t yet decided which topics.

Meira: What advice would you have for writers looking to break into series writing, in particular for reluctant readers?

Lauren: I would say that reluctant readers “deserve” access to important stories, fascinating chapters in history, characters who will inspire them and fortify them as they face challenges. Just because a child doesn’t love to read doesn’t mean they aren’t deeply curious about the world. Writers for reluctant readers have to work a little harder to make stories that much more engaging, to pull the reader through the book using suspense, rich descriptive details, and humor. These readers need to feel deeply connected to the characters, and invested in what happens. I will also say that there is no more rewarding audience to write for. NOTHING is more inspiring and motivating to me then en email from a kid saying “I hate to read but love your series!”

Meira: Is there anything I haven’t thought to ask that you’d like our readers to know?

Lauren: I just want to thank you for the chance to be a part of your wonderful blog, and for your thoughtful questions.

Meira: The pleasure is ours, thank YOU!

I SURVIVED: THE ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 can be purchased here or or wherever fine books are sold.

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GROUND ZERO –Interview and Giveaway with Author Alan Gratz

By on January 27, 2021   /   Author Interviews, Giveaways, New Releases  

I was thrilled to be able to read Alan Gratz’ new book, Ground Zero.  His books are so awesome! Such fun and exciting reads. And this one is no different. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to read about 9/11. Yes, it’s been 20 years, but like most of us, there are a lot of emotions tied up in that very difficult day. But Alan did a fantastic job with this book! He did a great job of handling the facts of the event, while masterfully weaving together two different action-packed stories. He kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. Of course, if you read Alan’s other books, you’ve seen this type of heart-pounding action before.

 

In time for the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, master storyteller Alan Gratz (Refugee) delivers a pulse-pounding and unforgettable take on history and hope, revenge and fear — and the stunning links between the past and present.

September 11, 2001, New York City: Brandon is visiting his dad at work, on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. Out of nowhere, an airplane slams into the tower, creating a fiery nightmare of terror and confusion. And Brandon is in the middle of it all. Can he survive — and escape?

September 11, 2019, Afghanistan: Reshmina has grown up in the shadow of war, but she dreams of peace and progress. When a battle erupts in her village, Reshmina stumbles upon a wounded American soldier named Taz. Should she help Taz — and put herself and her family in mortal danger?

Two kids. One devastating day. Nothing will ever be the same.

 

 

Reviews! 

“The pace is quick (don’t blink or you’ll miss something!), its emotions deeply authentic, and the highly visual settings resonate with accuracy. With a moving author’s note, pertinent back matter, and a surprise twist which brings the book full circle, Gratz delivers another winning read.” — Booklist, starred review

“Gratz’s deeply moving writing paints vivid images of the loss and fear of those who lived through the trauma of 9/11.” — Kirkus Reviews

 

Alan was gracious enough to answer a few of my questions about this amazing book:

Ground Zero was an amazing read, but a bit difficult for us who remember so vividly that very dark day. Was it hard to do the research for this book? To relive 9/11 all over again?

Yes. I thought, “Oh, twenty years have passed. This won’t be any harder than anything else I’ve written about.” But I was wrong. It was very difficult, emotionally, for me to research and write this book. 9/11 is still such a raw nerve for me, it turns out–and for many of us who lived through it. And I wasn’t even in New York or Pennsylvania or the Pentagon, and didn’t have my own personal connection to it! But like so many Americans, I felt like part of me had been carved out by the events of that day, and it took a long time to fill that hollowness back in. It turns out, it still hadn’t entirely been filled in. At the same time, I knew that for today’s middle schoolers, 9/11 is ancient history. It happened before they were born. They don’t have that same visceral reaction to reading about it or thinking about it as adults do. And it was important to try to show them how that feels for me and so many other adults, especially as many of us still have trouble talking about it.

I love how you weave two different storylines with their own characters together. You keep the suspense going in both at the same time. Do you write each storyline by itself first? Or do the two stories come to you at the same time?

When I’m writing multiple, parallel POVs, I start by researching and thinking about the story for each. I haven’t figured out every beat of the stories at this point; I don’t know every chapter. But I’ll figure out what the larger story is for each kid. I’m definitely looking for parallels throughout. “Oh, here they both see a helicopter. Oh, here they’re both trapped in a dark place underground. Oh, here they see their world come tumbling down.” Little parallels too. “Oh, here Brandon mentions toy Wolverine gloves, and here Reshmina puts sticks in between her fingers and pretends to attack her brother like a giant cat.” Then I’ll put together the individual chapter outline for one of the stories–often the first of the stories we’ll read in the book. In Refugee, that’s Josef’s story. In Grenade, it’s Hideki’s. In Ground Zero, it’s Brandon’s. I plot that story out all the way. Then I go back and start plotting the details of the next story. That way I can build in parallels and connections to the first, but with an idea already where I want to go overall. I think if I were building two or more stories at once, simultaneously, I might be too tempted to pull off in different directions that then don’t connect in the end. It’s tricky, but researching and having a strong idea of each story first and then building each one separately seems to work best for me. When I write the actual book though, I write it straight through, jumping from character to character, because I want the whole book to feel like one story. One novel. Not two or three separate stories I mashed together.

The storyline of the girl in Afghanistan is so vivid and real. Where did you find the research on Afghanistan? Did you contact people who lived there?

Thanks. For the Afghanistan War side of the story, I relied heavily on the amazing reporting that’s still being done by newspapers and magazines and radio and TV networks around the world. That war’s been going on so long that there are already lots of books about it too. And thanks to contacts I’ve made at UNICEF due to my work with Refugee, I was also able to speak via Zoom with the UNICEF team on the ground in Afghanistan to get a better idea about the situation there now. The World Trade Center side of the story has of course been covered extensively here in the United States. I read a number of books that went into great detail about what happened before, during, and after that day, but it was the first hand accounts from survivors that were the most important part of my research. Everything that happens in my story really happened to people inside the Twin Towers that day.

You write about some amazing places in the world, not just in this book, but in all of your books. How do you learn so much about them to give such distinct details? Are you able to visit them?

I almost never get to visit the places I write about, unless it’s after the fact! Which I regret. But my deadlines are often such that I don’t have a lot of time to travel as a part of my research, and of course there’s the cost of visiting far-flung places. I wish I could! In the case of Afghanistan, of course, that’s not a place I would visit now even if I could. The 2020 Global Peace Index ranks Afghanistan as the most dangerous country in the world. I hope Afghanistan is one day peaceful again, and that I’m able to visit. To make up for not visiting, I try to learn as much about a place and a people as possible through books and interviews and other media. Not just the historical events I’m writing about, but everything from the food they eat to the religion they practice to the music they make and the stories they tell. And more, of course. Not all of that will make it into the book, of course. It can’t. But I want to get to know a place and a people as much as possible before I write about them. Most importantly, that includes how they think. It’s a terrible mistake to assume that another culture shares the same attitudes and beliefs and values that you do–and worse, to assume that YOUR attitudes and beliefs and values are the “right” ones. In everything I read and learn about a place and a people, I’m trying to empathize with them as much as possible, and see life through their eyes, not mine. That is, after all, what I’m hoping to help my young readers see too.

I have read that you use a storyboard to brainstorm ideas and write extensive outlines for your books before you even start writing. How does that help you to see the story?

Outlining helps me see the larger path a story is taking. It helps me see the plot twists and emotional beats in a story from high above, and make sure I have those well-paced throughout the story. Outlining helps me see if I’ve taken too long to move from Act One to Act Two, if I’m spending too long (or too short a time) in Act Two, and if Act Three is too quick or too slow. I can see the parallels I build into my multiple POV stories. Outlining also helps me keep track of secondary characters and storylines, and make sure I haven’t gone too long without returning to them. My outline board helps me save time too. I don’t end up doing as much wholesale rewriting when I have taken the time to hammer out plot decisions in advance. I still do a LOT of rewriting, of course. And some of the outlined plot will change in revisions. But I can generally get most of the big problems figured out before I ever write the first word of the actual book.

Do you have any tips to give writers who might like to write books like yours?

I like the way you ask that: “writers who might like to write books like mine.” Because there are as many different ways to write books as there are authors, of course, and no one way is the right way. But if you’re looking to write books like I do… Get to the action early and often. Be accurate where it matters, but don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. Make your story more about the individual characters than the moment in history. And perhaps most importantly, have something to say. Don’t just tell an action-packed story. Have a theme. A message beyond the action and the thrills. Refugee challenges young readers to see the plight of otherwise invisible refugees and open their hearts and communities to them. Grenade says, “Hey, war isn’t all fun and games, and look what happens to the people caught in the middle.” Allies says we’re stronger when we work together. And similarly, Ground Zero says “It’s not us against the world. It has to be everyone, working together. That’s how we survive.” What is your story about? Answer that, and make sure you return to that question or idea or theme throughout your book. Then you’ll have a book your readers really can’t put down.

 Excellent interview, Alan! Thanks so much. Alan’s publisher, Scholastic Press is offering a giveaway of 1 copy of the book. To enter, leave a comment below and/or tag @mixedupfiles on Twitter. 

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