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It’s Sunday, book nerds! And you know what that means? We’ve got another amazing interview for you as part of our weekly #BeyondTheBio series.
Today’s guest author is Karen Rivers, whose new book You Are The Everything came out in October. She loves photography and believes books make the world a better place.
Today’s guest interviewer is Aislee. Aislee’s a high school student who loves to shop and hopes one day to travel to Korea. Her all-time favorite book is J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.
Let’s get to it!
Aislee: Hi Ms. Rivers! I would like to just say I loved Finding Ruby Starling when I read it in middle school, so finding out you wrote You Are The Everything made me really surprised and excited. And I was definitely not disappointed! What’s your book about?
Karen: This is tricky to answer without spoilers, but I would say that it’s about a plane crash, where a girl and the boy who she’s had a crush on for as long as she can remember are the only survivors. I think it’s also about how we live and how we die, and about how the thing that matters most is always love.
Aislee: Elyse and her best friend Kath have such a complicated friendship that it actually left me thinking about my own relationships. What do you see when you look at Elyse and Kath?
Karen: I think Kath and Elyse have a lovely friendship, but like in all friendships when they are really close, they sometimes lose patience with each other or get frustrated when the other person doesn’t give them what they need. I think they truly love each other though!
Aislee: My favorite scene was when Josh Harris says Elyse’s full name and then suddenly realizes that he loves her. Why did you skip the “like” part in their relationship and go straight to “love”?
Karen: There’s a period of time in your life, I think, where you can fall in love easily in this uncomplicated way, where you don’t know yet really what love is all about and how relationships are, where you can believe in true love. I needed Josh to fall as hard for Elyse as she already had for him, so love was the answer.
Aislee: Elyse is a hopeless romantic. Are you?
Karen: I am! I’m single by choice and right now I pour all my love and attention into my kids, but do I believe in true love? Absolutely.
Aislee: I know some teens who’d rather go through a plane crash than experience a difficult relationship. What advice would you give to them?
Karen: I would tell them that they are stronger than they think. Love can make us feel helpless, but we are never helpless, not as long as we are alive to make choices. Do not choose to be with someone who makes you feel badly about yourself. Choose someone who, when you’re with them, makes you feel better about yourself, not worse. Don’t mistake drama for passion!
Aislee: You already know that Finding Ruby Starling is a must-read in my book. What are some other books that you would recommend to teen readers?
Karen: Thank you! That’s so sweet of you. Some of my recent favourites are Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead and We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I’m reading The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo right now, and it’s fantastic.
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That’s it for today’s interview with Karen. If you're a book-loving teen like Aislee, click here to learn how to become a guest host for an upcoming #BeyondTheBio interview. It's an easy and fun chance to interview any YA author you choose!
And don't forget to enter this week's giveaway! We’re teaming up with our friends at Alconquin books to give one lucky winner a copy of You Are The Everything. You can enter the giveaway by clicking on the image below. Good luck!
