Wendelin Van Draanen

Wendelin Van Draanen has written more than thirty novels for young readers and teens. She is the author of the 18-book Edgar-winning Sammy Keyes series—often called “The new Nancy Drew”—and wrote Flipped, which was named a Top 100 Children’s Novel for the 21st Century by School Library Journal and became a Warner Brothers feature film, with Rob Reiner directing.

Van Draanen’s latest novel, The Peach Rebellion, explores the lives and loves of three young women who come from completely different backgrounds and join forces to take a stand against the patriarchy.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Titles can be tricky! Sometimes the perfect one reveals itself from day one, or was the inspiration for the entire story. And sometimes it’s a struggle. The working title for The Peach Rebellion was Millions of Peaches. The trouble with a working title is that it’s seared into your brain for – in this case—the three years that it took to write it. So, when my editor suggested that the working title didn’t really reflect the story of three young women standing up to the patriarchy, it was a challenge to erase my mental board and start fresh. But she was right. And I do love The Peach Rebellion as a title. I like that it’s not too on the nose, and reflects the sweet conflict inside.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Teenage Wendelin would be astounded. Not just because The Peach Rebellion is a historical novel and I was a mystery buff, but because I became an author at all. Writing was not my forte in school—math and science were. But tragic events forged me into a writer, and now I can’t imagine life without writing.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Like a title, the first and last lines can be inspiring or a struggle. When I write a book, I always have the idea in mind for the ending. I like knowing what I’m driving toward! And often what spurs me to begin the actual writing of a project is the spark of a first line. With The Peach Rebellion, both the beginning and ending changed a lot. I added an opening to the story—one that immediately set the tone and helped convey the emotional depth of a tragic event. And the ending…I reworked the last pages a lot. But endings are so important! They’re the author’s swan dive off the page. I want my reader to hug the book after they close it; to feel emotionally satisfied and hopeful, but not wrap things up with too many bows. It takes real work and contemplation to achieve the right balance.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I feel that to convey the heartbeat of a character, you have to understand them. That can come from your own experiences, or by research, reflection, and submerging yourself in their world and dilemma. There are alternating narrators in The Peach Rebellion. As the daughter of immigrants, I understand why Ginny Rose—the Dust Bowl migrant—so often feels like an outsider. And having worked for my parents at their small family business, Peggy—the peach farmer’s daughter—is a girl I really identify with. But in the writing process, these characters evolved away from the sparks that inspired them. They become their own separate and completely independent entities. But I can still feel their heartbeat, and I think that helps make them come alive to my readers.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

The Peach Rebellion is a celebration of differences—of people coming from vastly different viewpoints and backgrounds and uniting for a common cause. Like peaches being the combination of such varied elements—earth, air, sun, and water—the characters in the story combine forces to create change, not just in themselves, but in their community. The book’s theme is very much a reflection on the heartache I feel over how divided we are as a country, and as a world. Ultimately, I hope The Peach Rebellion serves as a way to consider and discuss why we label and treat people as outsiders, the lingering effects of economic disparity, and the fortifying power of being part of something bigger than ourselves.

Visit Wendelin Van Draanen's website.

--Marshal Zeringue