Clare Vanderpool

Reading Clare Vanderpool’s writing does nothing if not bridge gaps between reader and character, reader and setting, and especially reader and author.  As I read Moon Over Manifest, the story ran on ahead of me, drawing my childhood out of my calloused feet as if daring it to a race.  It makes you feel good without feeling patronized.  It makes you drink in history—yours, Abilene’s, Kansas’, America’s—without choking on sentiment. 

But what I find to be the loveliest thing about Clare is her website.  Moon Over Manifest won the 2011 Newbery award, which is fantastic, especially considering it was Clare’s debut novel.  But clarevanderpool.com should win its own award for staying true to Clare’s heart, even after the book was published and the Newbery won.  Reading it makes you feel like you’re part of her family, in part because she evidently forgets sometimes that people other than her family read it.  She reminds you of her connection to you, her closeness, with every blog post.  Just a few weeks ago, she wrote “2011 was a wonderful year but not only because of a special award.  Other big events:  Lucy got her braces off.  Paul got his braces on.  Luke crammed 80 high school kids in our garage for a dance and everyone survived.  Grace's singing has not broken any windows... yet.  (Lucy made me put that.)”

Clare’s work is part of her life, not its life’s blood.  She has a husband and four children, as well as a dog.  She grew up in a small town in Kansas her whole life, and she says that it was that childhood that prompted her to write Abilene’s story of wandering, of shifting.  Clare says that she has always had a strong connection to the concept of place, and that, at some point she wondered “what would a ‘true place’ be for someone who has never lived anywhere for more than a few weeks or months at a time?”  Moon Over Manifest is her response to that question.

Clare recently finished writing her next book, Navigating Early, that she says will come out next spring.  I, for one, look forward to taking off my shoes, digging my feet into the dirt, and preparing for the next race.

Mary

Just a Little Rant about Grammar

When I was in school, the rules of grammar were drilled into my head. No matter how old you get, English 101 never seems to leave your mind completely. I specifically remember my sixth grade teacher beating into our brains: “You NEVER begin a sentence with ‘and’ or ‘but’!” For years I would feel so incredibly stupid if I started a sentence with a conjunction. I’d quickly erase my mistake and take it with me to the grave.

                              

            However, when I started writing more, I found myself ignoring all the rules I learned when I was younger. I read other stories where the authors rebelled against those restricting grammar rules. I was baffled! So, it IS okay, I thought. If published authors can do it, then it is allowed. That’s when I split my writing personality between Novel Writing and School Writing.

            Recently I returned to school. Being an English major it’s pretty obvious that I am taking English courses. The first English course I took my first semester back kicked my a… you know…! I discovered I had developed an ego. I thought my writing style was top-notch because I did what I wanted. Then I relearned all of those grammar rules that sifted through my head over the years. While I will never pretend to understand all of the rules—Who vs. whom? Forget it!—I am much more aware of when authors break the rules.

            Alright, alright. I’ll get to my point! I recently read The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (almost done with Catching Fire, no spoilers please!). Ms. Collins breaks so many rules! Even though the story is excellent and I find myself unable to close the book, sometimes I am districted by her (I have to say it) terrible grammar! She begins many sentences with conjunctions and more than half of the story is comprised of sentence fragments. I get so aggravated when I’m reading and reading and reading and all of the sudden a wild sentence fragment appears and tears me away from the scene because I stumble over the sentence. What did that say? Wait… that makes no sense. Oh, I get it now! Why did she just at “you are” at the beginning of the sentence and make it whole?! Then I want to throw the book.

            Oh my point, right! My point is. I have decided I want to be that author that adopts a style of writing that is both unique and grammatically correct in narration. Dialogue is different but as for the person narrating (whether it be first or third person) has no reason not to narrate correctly. I don’t want my readers to stumble over the words in my novel and I refuse to dumb down my writing. I do not believe people are so illiterate that I need to be grammatically incorrect for my novels to be understood.

            Whew, okay my rant is over. If you read this far then I thank you!

            ~Tabitha, Tabby, MegaPaopu