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POP QUIZ
Question #1: Jenny Han is:
a) an author
b) a blogger
c) hilarious
d) all of the above
Jenny Han's debut novel Shug is as sweet as the title
implies. From the first chapter—make that the first
page—I knew I had found a book I would treasure and
recommend. If you are in middle school, or if you have
or work with kids in middle school, put this title on
your must-read list.
After reading Shug, I visited Jenny's website and
discovered her blog. These online resources revealed
that Jenny knew her fair share of pop culture. We
talked back and forth via our LiveJournal blogs and
discovered that we both loved the television show
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the 80s film Teen Witch, and
the book series The Baby-Sitters Club, among other
things.
I interviewed her last year, and now The Edge of the
Forest is allowing me the opportunity to chat with her
again. Ladies and gentleman, I present you with the
blogging writer of the month: Jenny Han!
The Edge of the Forest: In case anyone here has yet to read your awesome novel, Shug, please tell them
about the story.
Jenny Han: Shug is about a twelve year old girl who isn't quite
ready to grow up just yet. She longs for change and at
the same time, she fears it, especially when it comes
to love. Oh yeah, she's crazy about her ex-best friend
Mark, who's gotten a little too cool for school.
The Edge of the Forest: What do you hope readers think as they read the final page and digest the book's
sweet contents?
Jenny Han: I hope that readers feel that it's a truthful ending
that's really a beginning. That's what I love about
books, the way you know an ending is when things start
to really get good. I hope they know that Annemarie is
going to be okay, that life is hard sometimes, but
that there are also really sweet, unexpected moments
that come when you least expect them.
The Edge of the Forest: Which idea struck you first, to write a novel set in middle school, or to write a story
with character names derived from The Color Purple?
Jenny Han: The Color Purple references definitely came later.
While using the name Shug was a conscious decision, I
did not realize I had also used Celie until someone
pointed it out to me after the fact. Then I was like,
ohhh, that makes sense somehow.
The Edge of the Forest: Why do you blog?
Jenny Han: I blog because it's fun and it's a really easy way for
me to connect with my readers. The icing on the cake
is meeting cool new people I'd never have encountered
otherwise—like Little Willow! I also use it to keep up
with old college friends and also to just journal.
The Edge of the Forest: The majority of your posts are about...
Jenny Han: B-List celebrities, inane details of my life, and TV.
The Edge of the Forest: If Shug herself had a blog, the majority of her posts would be about...
Jenny Han: Oh, she'd probably have book reviews and perhaps a
sappy love poem or two. She might complain about her
mom and her sister, too. She's definitely the kind of
girl to keep a diary.
The Edge of the Forest: Guesstimate the age (range or average) of your book readers. Guesstimate the age (range or
average) of your blog readers. Compare and contrast.
Jenny Han: VERY interesting question. The average age of my
readers is probably eleven or twelve. My blog readers
are more like 20-something, with an occasional twelve
year old sprinkled in.
The Edge of the Forest: If your blog were a pop star, who would she (or he) be and why?
Jenny Han: She'd be Mandy Moore. Like, she knows she can't sing
like Christina, but she's got a decent voice and she
tries to offer her best to the world. She's cute,
she's got great skin and she's pretty wholesome. She
likes to walk that fine line between appropriate and
the tiniest bit controversial. She yearns to be taken
seriously, but she also knows that she sings songs
like Candy, and that's cool too!
The Edge of the Forest: List a quick safety tip for kids surfing the Internet and/or posting blogs of their own!
Jenny Han: Um, I guess I'd tell kids to use their best judgment
and not put up slutty pictures of themselves on
Myspace. Girls, don't do it! I know it seems totally
fun and harmless, but it's not just the cute guy from
your Spanish class who's looking at your profile.
There are real dirtbags out there who are not to be
trusted.
The Edge of the Forest: Your blog userpics showcase Cher from Clueless, Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
The Childlike Empress from The NeverEnding Story, Allison from The Breakfast Club,
Jordan and Angela from My So-Called Life, and Pippi Longstocking. Which userpic depicts your current mood?
Jenny Han: Angela! It's always Angela! Honestly, I interchange
them depending on my mood—if I'm feeling sassy, I use
Cher. She's my default userpic, so I'm usually feeling
pretty sassy. If I'm feeling rebellious, I use Pippi,
and so on. Because, aren't we all a princess, a basket
case, a criminal? Does that answer your question? ; )
The Edge of the Forest: All of these icons come from TV and film. 3 of them are based on books. I know you
heart Pippi—see the next question—but have you read Emma (Clueless = contemporary version
of Emma) and The NeverEnding Story? TNES is one of my favorite books and films.
Jenny Han: I loved Emma, loved P&P even more, and almost maybe
loved Persuasion the most. Scratch that, I loved Mr. Darcy the most. I have not, unfortunately, read The
Neverending Story. Clearly, it's on my to-read list! I'm still scarred by the Swamps of Sadness.
The Edge of the Forest: Blog + friends + writing + Pippi love =
The Longstockings, a group blog for writers. Tell us more.
Jenny Han: We all met at New School, a couple of years ago, and
some of us started a writing group our second year of
the MFA program. From there, it grew into the blog. As
a matter of fact, at this very moment, I am on a
writing retreat with the Longstockings in the
Catskills! So far, we've written tons, hot-tubbed, and
consumed many brownies. We meet every two weeks and
critique each other's work and just catch up on what's
happening with each other. It's a really great source
of support and encouragement.
The Edge of the Forest: Buffy should end up with...
Jenny Han: ANGEL ANGEL ANGEL! Angel is her soul mate. It's a done
deal. She "loved him more than anything in this life."
Her words, not mine. Did she say she loved Spike more
than anything in this life? Nooo.
The Edge of the Forest: Marc Blucas in I Capture the Castle was...
Jenny Han: Miscast. I'm sorry. I was never a Riley fan, either.
Nothing against Marc, but he just wasn't Neil. Neil is
more of a young Matt Damon, maybe a James Franco. For
the record, Simon was even more horribly miscast.
Simon is totally Ryan Gosling. Swoon. Or Christian
Bale!
The Edge of the Forest: How's your new job as a library assistant treating you?
Jenny Han: It's treating me so fine! I've only been there a few
weeks now (and I was out sick for one of them) but the
Calhoun School is so nice and the food is so good. The
kids are all really smart and I've really enjoyed
recommending books to them. My second day of work, my
supervisor Jenna told me to head over to Barnes and
Noble and pick out a bunch of books for their YA
collection. I almost passed out from the awesomeness
of that moment. I felt like I was on that supermarket
sweeps game show.
The Edge of the Forest: What's next for Jenny Han?
Jenny Han: Well, I've got a few different things cooking. It's
too soon to say what's next exactly, but I hope good,
good things.
The Edge of the Forest:Teen Witch rocks because...
Jenny Han: It's Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not
respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top
that?
Shug. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2006. ISBN: 1-4169-0942-7.
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