Public Libraries
How Working with Teenage Cancer Patients Inspired my YA Fantasy Novel, a guest post by Katie Keridan
Even when I knew it was coming, hearing the medical team admit they’d reached the limit of what science and technology could do for a patient infuriated me, and while I provided the best care I could, I constantly wished I could do more…and thus, the idea of a Recovrancer was born.
If you asked younger me what a writer looks like, they never would have imagined that it could be somebody like me, walking in circles around a room, talking aloud to themself as they tell their computer a story.
I’m so grateful for my memories of library, and I’m certain that growing up in that book-filled environment is a big part of how I became an author.
In back-to-school season, educators can use these books to convey the message that perfection isn’t required, good enough is good enough, and every child—and every child’s creation—has inherent value.
Urban neighborhoods provide unique environments for these coming-of-age stories, and city settings are integral to both our recent debut novels.
Write down your goals and dreams, friends. They happen, sometimes in the most roundabout and unique ways. Put pen to paper with your deepest desires, and watch them burst into fruition.
In my upcoming middle grade novel FLIP TURNS, the main character, Maddie, is a 13 year-old with an admirer who continues to pursue her after she’s turned him down numerous times.
When I sat down to write my debut YA novel, in December of 2019, I thought I was writing a book about violent antisemitism, about worlds colliding, forbidden love, and betrayal.
I’m truly fulfilled now; teacher, librarian, author– I’ve done everything I set out to do when I was that 10-year-old writing about a gnome in New Jersey. I may be crossing the finish line later than most of the other participants in the race, but guess what? I still get a ribbon.
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