Shakespeare Noir. As it should be.

What's that you say? This is supposed to be a book blog? Well... I suppose you have a point. October was a rough month for that. But hey! 31 Flavorites is all over (go read the chats!), Cybils is in full-swing (have you nominated your favorite books?), the WBBT is largely set to go (check out Colleen's site), and I did have that lovely exchange with Julia Denos (I embrace my virtual stalker-self), lest you think I was lazing about doing nothing. Well, ok, there was probably more nothing going on than there should have been. BUT, it's November now. And I's gots lots of books to talk about, so let's start with one of my favorites!

Alan Gratz hit it out of the ballpark with Something Rotten. And no, I'm not saying that just because he's got good taste in television,* or because he took a crazy pill and agreed to answer some interview questions from me. Next week Friday, for the Winter Blog Blast Tour (remember the SBBT?), I'll be interviewing Alan, and I must say, I had a blast coming up with questions for him, and his answers are great so you should have fun reading them (oh jeeze, did I just say I had a blast coming up with questions for the Winter Blog Blast Tour? Do disregard.).

ANYWAY, I was saying:

Gratz hit it out of the ballpark with this one. He NAILED the tone. Something Rotten, as the title of this post indicates, is inspired by two very large hallmarks of literature: Shakespeare and Noir. I wouldn't have thought it, but the two are quite well matched; I mean, Shakespeare tends to be a bit melodramatic, and hardboiled fiction is all about being just slightly over-the-top. The coolest part about taking inspiration from Shakespeare and Raymond Chandler is that the two have been so influential that the audience doesn't really need to be terribly familiar with either to get it. Or the jokes. Even if they don't know who Raymond Chandler is.

Horatio Wilkes has decided to spend his prep school vacation with his filthy-rich (Horatio's on scholarship) best friend, Hamilton Prince. Hamilton's heir to Denmark, Tennessee's lucrative paper plant, Elsinore, but his father has just died suddenly, and since his mother has married his uncle with disturbing speed, things aren't exactly great at the mansion. Soon after the two boys arrive, they discover a message from Horatio's dead father who appears as a shocking specter of the man he once was. Hamilton is convinced that his father was murdered, and Horatio has no choice but help Hamilton find the truth. It won't be easy, in fact, it might just get him killed.

Gratz firmly establishes the intent of the novel right away and by the second page, you not only know the rules, you are fully engrossed. You buy that world. You buy that smart, fast-talking wise-guy teen and his self-indulgent, damaged, friend. You want to BE Horatio. Gratz gives each of his character's just enough depth to avoid becoming caricatures, but keeps the over-exposed raw feel in keeping with the hardboiled/noir style. For pete's sake, Horatio's even got a signature drink: root beer (whereas Hamilton's a bit of an alcoholic).

It's peppered with classic one-liners:
How can you not laugh at: "Her wind-breaker broke in all the right places..." p 14**
Or: "Then again, lots of things take longer then his mother's remarriage. Like toast" p 23.
But doesn't forget:"...there are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy" p 106.

I mean, seriously.

GIVE THIS TO TEENS. I know you are always looking for good mysteries for them. We always are. This really is the best teen mystery I've read in, well, I don't remember the last really good teen mystery. Probably Golden's Body of Evidence. And I actually like this better (and you KNOW how much I liked those). It's funny. Genuinely funny. And SMART, let us not forget that. It's based on ole Shakes, after all. 'Twould be super fun to pair it with Hamlet (WAY better than when I had to pair Slaughterhouse-Five with the movie version of M*A*S*H in HS. I didn't realize how much darker the movie was than the tv show. Wasn't fun at all.). And if I haven't convinced you to read it and give it out by now... well. I don't know what else to say. Why are you even reading this? Go, like, stack rocks or something if you don't care for my opinion.

I'm kidding. I love you. You can totally disagree with me. I won't tell.

Know what? There'sa gonna be a sequel. Next year. Called Something Wicked. I wonder which play that'll be... hehe. I'm so excited. I'm also not patient. Once you get your peeps addicted, and they clamor for more (and they will), try giving them the movie Brick. It's darker and older (audience-wise) and a little confusing, but awesome all the same. Adults will like Something Rotten, too. I plan on trying it out on a couple of them very soon. Like in the morning.

I think they should totally bring back the fedora. Gratz, are you wearing one on your book tour? You should. *nods*

Oh, and I think the cover totally rocks. So go cover artist Emilian Gregory!


*ok, that made more sense when there was a Q & A bit on his site. I think it said he liked Veronica Mars, Firefly, Buffy, etc. Basically, what I watch - or did, since none of those are on anymore).
**my pagination comes from the ARC. I think they are ultimately wrong. I don't have the actual book, so if someone wants to email me the real pages, go ahead.

This is as close as I get to Hollywood, folks.

Fetching cover, isn't it? Simple, but there's no doubt superheroes are found within. Or possibly The Lone Ranger, but no one thinks of The Lone Ranger anymore, so it's all good. Superheroes it is.

Past that cover, though, we find a teen who wants more than anything to have a superpower, to work with the heroes he admires, and to bring his family out from under the infamous shadow his former superhero father casts. There's more though; Thom is gay. His father makes openly homophobic statements, and as Thom slowly discovers that he does have superpower, he has to hide more that just his sexuality from his dad, since heroes and power are just as forbidden as being gay.

Perry Moore enters the world of teen lit from a unique angle, his other job is as a producer on the Chronicles of Narnia movies. This of course makes me rather curious:

1. You are a first time novelist who's coming from Hollywood. Have you read much of the current fiction written for young adults? What have you especially enjoyed? As a producer, is there a teen book out there you'd love to see on the screen?

I’ve always been a rabid fan of YA literature. That’s how I came to play such a special part in getting the Chronicles of Narnia made. Sheer passion for staying true to what makes the source material special. By the way, I don’t come from Hollywood. I live in NY. Only lived in two places in my life. First Virginia, then New York. I go to Hollywood often to work, but I’ve never lived there. To be honest, I think that played a crucial difference in helping to get the rights to Narnia. I’m not very Hollywood. It’s funny because most reviews will often mention this like I’m some Hollywood producer taking luxurious baths in all my cash, but it’s not like that at all. My passion is good storytelling. Always has been. I live in a modest one-bedroom in NY. I work out at the local rec center. I play tennis on public courts. I surf waves in Montauk, not Hawaii.

At any rate, I loved so many books growing up. I never knew how much of a bookworm I really was until I started working in Hollywood where few people have time to read books. My favorites, among so many others, were The Chronicles of Narnia, Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles, S.E. Hinton’s books, I went through a huge Lois Duncan period when I was a boy, too. I’m sure they’re so many more. Actually, I’d classify Stephen King’s Carrie as a YA book, too. I just loved that one. The movie was good to, It was such a dream to co-direct a movie with Sissy Spacek as the star. I would love to make Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles into a movie franchise like Narnia. Same for Madeleine L’Engle’s books. Not to mention HERO! (Stan Lee is hard at work?)

(Jac says: Dude. He just listed like every book I read as a kid. 'Cept Lloyd Alexander. Haven't gotten around to him. Bad librarian. Bad.)

2. Thom is mostly unaware of the extent of the power he wields - to the point that he doesn't even take credit for what he does. Not only that, but he doesn't SEE the good he does - only the inadvertent side affects. Poor kid's got some serious self-esteem issues. Even taking away the power element, Thom's got a lot of normal-kid angst. What do you want reader's to take from Thom's experiences?

The book doesn’t feel like homework: it’s a fantastic book, full of love, hope, loss, bottoming out, seemingly insurmountable challenges, and redemption. My theme is very true: That those very things that may make you feel alienated are actually what make you unique, and once you embrace those things and integrate them into your life, well, that’s about the most powerful thing you can become!

3. There is a lot of inherent conflict with Thom's power. What stops him from getting bombarded with people wanting him to heal them?

Wait until the sequel for more on that one.

(Jac says: drat.)

4. Much relies plot-wise on Thom remaining ignorant of the extent of his power. I had difficulty believing that once he accepted that he had power that he didn't run around experimenting and familiarizing himself with it. Could you enlighten me?

Well, Thom grew up in a household where powers were strictly taboo. Much like being gay. I didn’t run around experimenting with being gay when I was young, much like Thom doesn’t run around doing that or experimenting with his powers. Plus, he doesn’t have one of those obvious powers like flying that we all want to have where you’d just love to soar the heavens if you found out you could do it.

(Jac says: touché)

5. You took a bit of a risk on page 203 in allowing Thom's first kiss to happen with a stranger who offered him a ride. Why the choice? Any worry that might incur some opposition?

You have to write the truth. This was the truth to the story. I’d been there, a lot of people have been there, and Thom went there. It happens. At a certain point the characters take over, and you just have to make sure that you, as the writer, doesn’t get in the way. As far as opposition goes, I’m not really all that bothered. Sure there will be some people who don’t want to recognize truth, there always are. But the truth will set you free!

6. In your opinion, what are some of the lamest super-powers out there? What were some of the powers you discarded?

Look at Pied Piper. One of DC’s token gay characters. Sometimes a good guy, sometimes a bad guy. Blows on a pipe to make others do his bidding. Ugh.

7. On your site you've listed gay characters in comics. Listed thusly, it becomes disturbingly clear that most of them are either evil or meet horrible ends. Why did you decide to write this as a novel, where we find many positive depictions of gays, rather than in Graphic Novel format, where you could perhaps enact some change?

First, YA books changed my life. They opened me up to a world of hope and change. It’s why I loved all the books I mentioned above. CS Lewis taught me that tapping into a young person’s mind, without condescending to them, is one of the most powerful things you can do. Don’t think young people are as stupid as what you see on MTV. They’re not. They’re imaginations are limitless. So I chose to tell the story in book form first. Would love to do a 12 part miniseries for Marvel or DC, too. About time they stepped up to the plate. They’ve never had a story starring the world’s first gay teenage superhero, and if HERO is any indication, there’s a tremendous appetite for it. With regards to the list, let’s make it better. Let’s update it. Things will get better! E-mail me!

My parents taught me two very important things. One, none of us were put on this great earth to ride on the back of the bus, and two, the pen is mightier than the sword. Write Marvel, write DC, tell them what you want!

8. Superheroes first made their indelible mark on society just before and during WWII, and have experienced a recent resurgence of mass appeal with movie after movie adaptation, when, at the same time, the world has become increasingly unstable. What do these powered heroes provide us both then and now?

What a great question. Not sure I can articulate the best answer because being a lifelong comic book fan that aspect of superheroes has always been so ingrained in me, just part of my nature. I believe there’s a HERO in all of us! There’s a tremendous appeal in that inspiration.

9. In my limited comic knowledge, I've found that alien superheroes always comment disparagingly on humans tendency to abuse our environment, and that evil alien supervillians use it as an excuse to try and destroy earth, under the famous and brilliant "you-weren't-appreciating-it-anyway" clause of argument. Since both of these things happen in HERO, what do you have to say about the trend? Is it merely an environmental message or chastisement? (p415)

I didn’t know it was a trend. As far as I know, it’s not the majority of what supervillains are after in the comics I read. I guess there are a few. Please write me about trends and things you see or things you want to see explored in the sequel. I’d love to hear more. Excellent question.

(Jac says: I was mostly thinking of Karolina's alien betrothed in Runaways & The Silver Surfer in F4. And possibly all the Captain Planet cartoons I watched as a littlie. Admittedly, this is not my area of expertise.)

10. "I had never let myself fantasize about being with someone my age, because it stopped being a fantasy at that point. It entered the realm of possibility, and that's where you can really get hurt" (p396). That? That right there? That stopped my heart. It's more than just about relationships - I think it applies to anyone who wants something but is too scared to go after it. What was your great fear that you had to overcome to get what you truly wanted?

You got it. Man, you really got it. I think anyone can relate to that unrequited crush in school that was so very real. There was a guy two years older than me on the basketball squad above mine. In many ways, he inspired Goran. Obviously I could never say anything to him. What would you say to that person now?

(Jac says: I think I'd be pretty Laissez-faire about it. If I were trapped in an elevator with that person I might bring it up, simply to start conversation. Of course, if bored and trapped in an elevator with a stranger, I might just pretend to have had an unrequited high school crush on him. You know, just to pass time. I don't do bored well.)

11. I was surprised to find myself thinking of Nick Hornby when reading HERO. Are you a fan? Would you put HERO in the category of "Lad Lit," albeit on the younger side?

I’d consider it an honor to be lumped in with Nick Hornby on any list.

12. In your interview yesterday (part 1, part 2) with the YA YA YAs, you said: "Anything Walden Media makes will be good, for instance, because they stay so true to what makes the book special in the first place. If you want to satisfy both audiences, you must stay true to that great story." Do you stand by this statement now that they've released The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising in conjunction with 20th Century Fox? Cheeky, aren’t I?

You are indeed cheeky. I wasn’t involved in that movie, so I don’t have anything to say about it. Haven’t seen it either, but I do love anything Susan Cooper writes. Moreover, I do stand by my words regarding Walden Media’s commitment. Their support of Narnia is the reason those movies exist! Same goes for Bridge to Terabithia and Holes with Shia LaBoeuf. Unless you’ve made one, you can’t imagine how hard it is to make a stellar movie. Truly it takes a miracle of commitment. And Walden has that commitment. They’ve revolutionized the industry in so many ways.

(Jac says: I was indeed very impressed with Terabithia, Holes AND Because of Winn Dixie. Walden remained so true to their source material in all of those instances. Which, I think, is why so many people were surprised and disappointed with what happened to The Dark Is Rising. It's a classic with a built-in audience from the last 40 years, and Walden had such a great track record. Someone dropped the ball, and we are all sad about that. None of this, of course, has anything to do with our dear Perry Moore. Terribly sorry to have interrupted.)

13. You've told us to wait for the sequel. Can you give us any hints (no spoilers) for what's to come?

I love this question! Yes, this will be a series. Like I said, please e-mail me about what you want to know more about, because I’m in major planning stages. Now that these characters are alive, they keep coming to me with their stories. Hmmmm? hints. Well, what do you think Thom’s mom has really been up to all these years in her absence? And how do you know the Invisible Woman is really dead if you can’t find a body? Wonder about where Thom and Goran’s relationship is headed? And what exactly are the true natures of Goran’s abilities and his background? Expect a lot more from Typhoid Larry, Scarlett, Golden Boy, and some new characters, too! Remember, as Thom learns in the first book, things aren’t always what they seem!

Thanks, Perry, for spending some time with us!

***

The rest of today's Winter Blog Blast Tour:

Lisa Ann Sandell at Chasing Ray
Christopher Barzak at Shaken & Stirred
Autumn Cornwell at The Ya Ya Yas
Jon Scieszka at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Gabrielle Zevin at Jen Robinson's Book Page
Judy Blume at Not Your Mother's Book Club
Erik P. Kraft at Bookshelves of Doom
Clare Dunkle at Miss Erin

An Author-riffic Day

Today marks not only Day 2 of the Winter Blast Blog Tour, but ALSO the LIVE CHAT with Ellen Emerson White (Ellen! Emerson! White!) at the Readergirlz MySpace Forum. Last night I told my boyfriend I wanted to name a daughter Meg after Meg Powers, if that tells you ANYTHING about how much I love EEW.

Today's WBBT links:

Ellen Datlow at Chasing Ray.
Tony DiTerlizzi at Miss Erin.
Melissa Walker at Hip Writer Mama.
Luisa Plaja at Bildungsroman.
D.M. Cornish at Finding Wonderland.
L.J. Smith at the YA YA YAs.
Kathleen Duey at Bookshelves of Doom.