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Sara Zarr's debut novel—Story of a Girl—has recently been selected as a National Book Awards finalist
in the Young People's Literature category. We thought we'd catch up with her again since the announcements and talk
to her about writing and Story of a Girl.
The Edge of the Forest: Tell us a little bit about Sara Zarr. Where do you live? How do you spend your
days?
Sara Zarr: I've lived in Salt Lake City ever since my husband moved here for work about seven years
ago, and I have to say I love it. There are a lot of displaced Californians like me here who feel like we've discovered
this amazing secret of the quality of life available in Utah. Others are catching on, though. I think right now two of the
fastest-growing cities in country are in Utah. Right now I'm writing full-time and spend my days creatively avoiding work.
The Edge of the Forest: Who is your favorite writer?
Sara Zarr: Oh, I can never name favorites. Of anything. Robert Cormier is the writer who made me want to write.
The Edge of the Forest: What draws you to Young Adult literature in particular? What I mean is, why
Young Adult fiction and not, say, mystery, chick lit, or "literary fiction"?
Sara Zarr: I'm sure some of it has to do with the influence of Cormier, and M.E. Kerr, and the other great YA
authors I've always admired, but really it's just that when I think of stories they usually involve teenagers. There's
something about adolescence that is ripe for storytelling, I guess, and I love the straightforward, concise sort of
storytelling that seems to be one of the hallmarks of YA.
The Edge of the Forest: Story of a Girl is your first novel. How long did it take you to write? And I
mean from the very beginning—from the spark in your eye to the lovely product I just received?
Sara Zarr: I started writing the first draft in 2001, I think, so...six years? That's a bit deceptive, though, as
there were huge chunks of time in there spent waiting to hear back from potential agents and editors and contests. I'd say
about half that time was waiting.
The Edge of the Forest: Story of a Girl really resonated with me, in part because Pacifica reminded me so
much of the town I grew up in. You really nailed that California small town down on its luck. Did you grow up in a small
town as well?
Sara Zarr: I actually lived in San Francisco, a few blocks from Golden Gate Park, until age eleven when we moved to
Pacifica. So I have direct experience! Even though Deanna's particular story is not autobiographical, her high school was
my high school, her landscape was my landscape, her sense of being trapped in that town was mine (and every teen's who
lived in Pacifica without a car). Originally I was going to have it be a fictional town like Pacifica, but then I decided
why try to disguise it? I can sort of appreciate it now when I go back to visit as an adult, but it is what it is. I've had
a lot of strong response to the setting.
The Edge of the Forest: Story of a Girl concerns, in many ways, forgiveness and redemption. It seems to me, that
Deanna has to forgive others before she can let herself off the hook. Was this theme of forgiveness and redemption one you
brought into the book consciously, or did it develop organically as you were writing?
Sara Zarr: A little of both, I'm sure. The forgiveness and redemption aspects seem to be part of my writer's DNA—they
keep coming up in everything I do; I don't know if I could stop them if I tried. But you can't really go into a book sure
of what you want to say. If you do, you close yourself off to other possibilities and perhaps become blind to the other
important tasks of writing a good book.
The Edge of the Forest: In the process of figuring things out and forgiving others around her (Tommy, her father),
Deanna makes a few mistakes along the way: kissing her best friend and saying hateful things to her best girlfriend. What
are you saying about the nature of friendships and growing up in Story of a Girl?
Sara Zarr: I guess that it's hard. People let us down, we let them down. You can't go through a meaningful life and
have real connections without occasionally inflicting pain on yourself and others. I think the temptation for most of us
when we do that is to walk away and start over with someone else in hopes that we won't mess it up this time. But you can't
walk away from yourself, which is something Deanna figures out. The real triumph of her friendship with Lee and Jason is in
that last moment of the book, when they are going toward each other instead of away.
The Edge of the Forest: I absolutely adore the title of your novel and think it fits the book perfectly. Was
Story of a Girl the title from the very beginning or did you come to it later on?
Sara Zarr: Thank you! Coming up with a title can be one of the hardest parts of writing a book or story. When I
started the book, it was called The Miracle of Life. Then it was Together Alone. There was that line on the first page
where Deanna has that line,...in my head I wrote the story of a girl...and I went with that. For a long time it was
THE Story of a Girl, but the "the" got dropped in the cover design process and I never looked back!
The Edge of the Forest: What can we look forward to next from Sara Zarr?
Sara Zarr: My second book with Little, Brown is about to go into production. It's called Sweethearts, and
it's about childhood sweethearts who experience something traumatic together as kids, are separated for years, and then
find each other again during their senior year of high school. Drama ensues. By the way, I've decided that's what I want on
my headstone: "Drama ensued."
The Edge of the Forest: Story of a Girl was recently selected as a shortlisted title for the National Book
Awards. How did you receive the news? Were you sitting down?
Sara Zarr: Actually, I was lying down, and had been all day. I was very sick the day the National Book
Foundation called and didn't even know what was going on until my husband came home and said, "Do you know you have a
message from the National Book Foundation?" It took me a few hours to connect "National Book Foundation" to "National Book
Awards," but then I started to suspect. I called back the next day and got the official news. It was all a huge
surprise.
The Edge of the Forest: What does the NBA recognition mean for you as a writer? Any practical implications?
Sara Zarr: A writer friend emailed me the day of the announcements and said, "You're the same writer you were two
days ago, only more grownups are paying attention." Which in many ways is totally true. I still have to do the work, and
it's still hard, and I shouldn't let any additional pressure get to me. On the other hand, it does feel like the final
green light that it's okay to throw myself into this career unreservedly and trust that I might actually have what it
takes. Maybe I can stop watching those ITT Tech commercials and thinking about my possible fallback career as a help desk
assistant. On a practical level, even being a finalist often means your book still stay in print longer, wind up on reading
lists, and generally have an extended life, which is always good.
The Edge of the Forest: Congratulations, Sara!
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