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When my first novel, This Girl is Different, came out last year, I avoided reading reviews. Avoided like the plague. The very thought of their existence filled me with Walking Dead dread.
My publicists, editor, and agent are very careful not to send me reviews, per my request; reviews get sent to my manager (aka my husband) who reads them, but keeps their contents in the vault. He tells me excerpts for my website and Facebook and stuff. You’re probably all, “Time out! I call WUSS! Authors need thick skin. You gotta listen to criticism. Otherwise you won’t grow as a writer.” Yes. Agreed. I am a wuss. And agreed: critique is paramountally important.* [Yes, I just wrote paramountally. Whatevs. I’m writing this in the thick of a bunch of 7 and 8 year olds constructing scrap-material cars, and they’re all screaming and running around, and I forgot my earbuds. ARGH.] Anyhoo. Where was I. Right. Critique. Critique is one of the top three necessities of successful authors -- the other two necessary components being (1) writing, and (2) reading a ton. I am open to critique, but here’s the thing: source matters. I am wide open to critique FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. Are most professional reviewers smart, thoughtful readers who care about books and their place in literature and libraries? Almost certainly. But what about the few bad apples? What if my reviewer is a Bitter Betty who gave up on her own novels (or never even got started) and is now on a mission to spread misery wherever she goes? That’s not a review I need to invite into my psyche. So now you’re all, “Why not just read the good reviews?” Well, because. If I take to heart the good reviews from people I don’t know, it’s only fair I take the bad. I suppose I could do like the Olympics, and discard the top and bottom scores, but that’s getting a bit complicated. Besides, I’d have to read them all to keep track. So. Here’s what I do: I listen to people I trust. My critique group (Stephen Messer, Jennifer Harrod, John Claude Bemis – Adverb Fight Club, holla!) are my first readers, and we meet and drink coffee or beer and they tear my work to shreds. Shreds. AND THEN THEY HELP ME BUILD IT BACK UP into something better. Because they are my friends, and they are super smart, and they are working on their own books, and THEY HAVE MY BEST INTEREST AT HEART. They have my back; I have theirs. End of story. Well, actually start of story .... After Adverb Fight Club does their worst/best, I rewrite. And then hand it to my husband to read and critique, and I fix more stuff. Then it goes to my agent, who is super thoughtful, professional, and honest; based on her feedback, I make more changes. If you’re keeping track, that’s at least five critics – and probably twenty re-writes – before a manuscript hits the desk of my editor at Peachtree, Kathy Landwehr. Who then rips it to shreds … again. And so I rewrite it again. And I give it back to my critique group. And then my husband. And then back to Kathy. (Ginger gets spared that round.) Then it goes to my parents and mother-in-law, and Peachtree’s several copy editors. THEN it goes to print. So. Yeah. I can take criticism. But I don’t read reviews. Except when I do read reviews. I’ve read a few more of them with the publication of my second novel, The Theory of Everything. And I’ll be honest, I was stoked to get a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. Because it was complimentary, yes, but mostly because maybe the little red star in front of my book gets it on more school and public library shelves, and into the hands of more readers. *Thick skin is not necessary; persistence is. But that’s another blog post for another time.  Who doesn't love a good "Best of" list to ring out the old and ring in the new?
Especially this teen blogger's "Best Books of 2011" list, which includes, and I quote: "This Girl is Different by J. J. Johnson. This book is different. In a good way. No, scratch that, in an amazing, incredible way." **Happy sigh.** Feeling the love. And it gets me thinking ... what are MY Favorite Books of 2011? Well, well -- I'm so glad I asked myself! First, FICTION. Man, I read some hella good books this year. So here goes: The White City by John Claude Bemis (Random House, 2011). Totally satisfying, Ferris Wheel-centric conclusion to The Clockwork Dark Trilogy. Super love. The Death of York Mortwell by Stephen Messer (Random House, 2011). Creepy and touching and just plain fantastic. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (HarperCollins, 2011). This novel just stuck to my ribs. Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal by Mal Peet (Candlewick, 2007). What it might have been like to be in the resistance in the Netherlands, WWII. Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald (Bantam Dell, 2006). Caught my eye at Goodwill, and I loved it, because it's hard to find a "real" novel about straddling two cultures. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown, 2007). Because I heart Sherman Alexie. For more, including my non-fiction picks, click right over there --------------------------->  From the TEEN WRITERS BLOC -
blog and book reviews from MFA students at the New School read the whole review here: http://www.teenwritersbloc.com/2011/06/02/book-review-girl-j-j-johnson/ Excerpt: "... Author J.J. Johnson could have taken us in the standard direction with this—mean girls torment our heroine until the handsome jock comes to her rescue. Thankfully, Johnson’s Evie and the world she lives in are much more unique and nuanced. Johnson spreads a message throughout the book about the value of activism and standing by your principles, but it rarely comes across as preachy. Instead, Evie and the other characters, who include a boy, a cheerleader who’s more than pom-poms, and a creepy teacher too many teens will recognize, are well rounded individuals with real-world concerns. "One of the great things about this book was that it caused me to think about things I don’t normally think about. Evie, in genuine confusion, wonders why she’s not allowed to use her cell phone or go outside during lunch. I have no doubt that these are real restrictions that kids face, and they had me scratching my head, too. (My high school had an open campus, so even hall passes seem weird to me. I’m not sure how I would have reacted to suddenly being locked inside.) ..." (Posted on TEEN WRITERS BLOC by Mary G. Thompson, June - 2 - 2011)  This "authorthoughts" interview by thatcovergirl.com isn't exactly new; I'm re-posting due to popular (or perhaps polite) demand.
JJ: I really didn’t have a sense of what the cover might look like, and I didn’t give any concept input to Peachtree. The only thing I knew for certain was that I did NOT want what I call a “headless girl body” cover: those YA covers with a photo of a skinny teenager, wearing trendy clothes, whose head is either cropped out of the picture or hidden behind some object. I assume those covers are trying to encourage readers to picture themselves as the heroine (“insert your face here”), but I think they’re very objectifying. Our culture already tells girls to think their bodies and clothes are the most significant part of their identity, and “headless girl body” covers reinforce that idea. What does it say when the heroine of a novel doesn’t have a head worth including on the cover? It’s a subtle message, but it’s unhealthy. Readers need to see whole people, with strong minds and smart brains attached to their healthy bodies.... read the full interview: http://thatcovergirl.com/2011/03/17/authorthoughts-jj-johnson-this-girl-is-different/ OR CLICK OVER THERE TO READ MORE ----> I mean, how freaking cool is this? It makes my smile as big as ... a huge smile. Jack-o-lantern? Cameron Diaz? You get the idea.
Hi, my name is A_____. I recently read your book "This Girl is Different" and thought that your idea for a student led speak-out would be absolutely perfect for solving the bullying problem at my school. I talked to my Assistant Principal, and you wanna know something really cool? He said almost the same exact thing as the principal in you book! Basically he said "I think this would be more effective if it was student led, but I'm behind you all the way." Anyways, if our speak-out is as effective as the one in you book, I will definitely email you back and tell you how it went.  Congratulations to T.D., who was randomly chosen among those who clicked the Facebook 'like' button on this site.
She won TWO signed copies of This Girl is Different - one to keep, and one for the public library or school library of her choice! Stay tuned for more contests!    Awesome, if rather surreal, day giving an all-school assembly at my alma mater (and site of This Girl is Different).
 Excerpt: What initially inspired this story?
Obama was campaigning and I was thinking about change and the system, and speaking your mind and free speech. I was thinking, 'What if you grew up outside the system? What if you viewed high school through different eyes?' And I wanted to look at how free speech can cross the line into bullying, because Evie, our heroine, is very much about free speech and all her rights, but that part of her revolution gets out of control, not in her hands, but in other people’s hands. It’s about the responsibility that comes with free speech, both to your community and to yourself... See the complete interview here.  From the interview: I really didn’t have a sense of what the cover might look like, and I didn’t give any concept input to Peachtree. The only thing I knew for certain was that I did NOT want what I call a “headless girl body” cover: those YA covers with a photo of a skinny teenager, wearing trendy clothes, whose head is either cropped out of the picture or hidden behind some object. I assume those covers are trying to encourage readers to picture themselves as the heroine (“insert your face here”), but I think they’re very objectifying. Our culture already tells girls to think their bodies and clothes are the most significant part of their identity, and “headless girl body” covers reinforce that idea. What does it say when the heroine of a novel doesn’t have a head worth including on the cover? It’s a subtle message, but it’s unhealthy. Readers need to see whole people, with strong minds and smart brains attached to their healthy bodies....
read the full interview: http://thatcovergirl.com/2011/03/17/authorthoughts-jj-johnson-this-girl-is-different/ |
