Kim Culbertson, author of THE WONDER OF US, on reading expanding our understanding of others

by Jocelyn Rish

We’re thrilled to have Kim Culbertson stop by to tell us more about her latest novel THE WONDER OF US.

Kim, what is your favorite thing about THE WONDER OF US?

I knew that I wanted my next book to be about friendship. Every book I write is a love story in some way, and I think for many young people, the friends in their lives become their first great loves outside of their own family. I wanted to explore what happened when one such friendship, a deep and long-lasting childhood friendship, suddenly found itself disintegrating. The book explores how a friendship must evolve and change if it wants to survive. The book is also very much about how travel takes us outside ourselves and forces us to hold up our own problems and heartbreaks against the backdrop of an enormous world full of problems and heartbreaks.

What was your inspiration for writing THE WONDER OF US?

I’ve always been fascinated with the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, mostly because six of them don’t exist anymore. There is something about this as metaphor that inspired me to connect the Wonders to friendship. The book is set in seven countries – Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Scotland, Iceland, England, and the US. These are some of my favorite places to travel, and they have endlessly captivated me, so it was natural to have them inspire a book of mine.

What do you hope readers will take away from THE WONDER OF US?

These girls are very privileged to take a journey like this one. When we study history, when we explore the world around us and visit new places, I think it can expand our understanding of others. This is also true for reading, which is a sort of travel. Matt Haig says that books are “empathy engines” and I love that expression. It’s so active. In reading books, we can actively become more empathetic to the greater world. I think both Abby and Riya learn something about themselves, each other, and the bigger world as they travel in this novel. I hope readers take away a new view after reading it. Maybe it will inspire them to travel more or dig more deeply into a friendship. Mostly, I hope readers feel like the book awakens something in them – an idea, a realization, a sense of joy. I hope all my books do that.

Was there an AHA! moment along your road to publication where something suddenly sank in and you felt you had the key to writing a novel? What was it?

This is my fifth published novel and I did finally have an AHA! moment, but it had more to do with the business of writing. It’s easy to get focused on certain elements of the industry outside of the work. My moment was realizing that I write novels because I love to write novels. I love my characters and settings and conflicts. I love sitting down at my laptop and working with language. And on the heels of this realization was the understanding that I’m deeply privileged to get to do the work I do. I’m so lucky.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Wonder of Us
by Kim Culbertson
Hardcover
Point
Released 4/25/2017

Riya and Abby are:
Best friends.
Complete opposites.
Living on different continents.
Currently mad at each other.
About to travel around Europe.

Riya moved to Berlin, Germany, with her family for junior year, while Abby stayed behind in their small California town. They thought it would be easy to keep up their friendship–it’s only a year and they’ve been best friends since preschool. But instead, they ended up fighting and not being there for the other. So Riya proposes an epic adventure to fix their friendship. Two weeks, six countries, unimaginable fun. But two small catches:

They haven’t talked in weeks.
They’ve both been keeping secrets.

Can Riya and Abby find their way back to each other among lush countrysides and dazzling cities, or does growing up mean growing apart?

Purchase The Wonder of Us at Amazon
Purchase The Wonder of Us at IndieBound
View The Wonder of Us on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kim Culbertson is the award-winning author of the YA novels Songs for a Teenage Nomad (Sourcebooks 2010), Instructions for a Broken Heart (Sourcebooks 2011), Catch a Falling Star (Scholastic 2014), The Possibility of Now (Scholastic 2016), and The Wonder of Us (Scholastic 2017). Much of her inspiration for her novels comes from the work she’s done as a high school teacher since 1997. In 2012, Kim wrote her eBook novella The Liberation of Max McTrue for her students, who, over the years, have taught her far more than she has taught them. She currently lives in Nevada City, CA, with her husband and daughter.

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Have you had a chance to read THE WONDER OF US yet? Have you had the opportunity to travel? Do you feel it has affected your understanding of the world and others? Are you planning on taking Culbertson’s advice to travel or dive deeper into a friendship? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!

Happy reading,

Emily, Jocelyn, Anisaa, Sam, Martina, Erin, Susan, Shelly, Kelly, Laura, and Lori Ann

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who loves researching weird and wonderful animals and sharing what she learns. Her debut was BATTLE OF THE BUTTS, about ten animals that do weird things with their butts. Her latest book is BATTLE OF THE BRAINS, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection about ten animals with mind-blowing brain abilities. When she’s not writing, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading. Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her adorable dog. Find out more at www.jocelynrish.com.

Post @ Jocelyn Rish and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Apr 29, 2017

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: YA Author Interviews

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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