Cordelia Jensen is the author of the new middle grade novel in verse Lilac and the Switchback. Her other books include Skyscraping. She lives in Pennsylvania.
Q: What inspired you to write Lilac and the Switchback, and how did you create your character Lilac?
A: It was actually the setting of Lehigh University that first inspired the story! I love the landscape that surrounds that school. It evokes quintessential Pennsylvania countryside; you can look up to the mountains and then down to the river.
Although I personally am more of a “water person,” when I was on the college tour of the school with my own twins, I pictured a 12-year-old girl looking uphill. I knew the girl would help literally blaze a trail while, simultaneously, embarking on an emotional journey to help find her place in the world.
I also knew I wanted to incorporate the Philadelphia Zoo somehow and my own experience with HELLP syndrome (a severe atypical preeclampsia) that I experienced postpartum. I had tried to write about both this place and this experience before in manuscripts that didn’t end up working.
I wasn’t sure what else was going on with Lilac and how to stitch these pieces together until I started writing poems in her voice. As I wrote and got to know Lilac more, I fictionalized the setting because the college itself didn’t make sense in the story.
Q: The Booklist review of the book says, “Told in verse, this tender story unpacks what it means to be a family while exploring the long-term effects of grief, ultimately offering the hope of healing.” What do you think of that description?
A: I think (hope) it is accurate! All my published novels circle issues of grief and family secrets. Often during times of trauma, families act in secretive ways, or secrets end up being revealed in response to trauma. These secrets can make for great story tension.
In Lilac’s story, the uncovering of these secrets after a traumatic situation helps her to grow, change, and accept her present-day family, offering them all hope for healing.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: This is hard to answer without spoilers! I knew how it would end emotionally and literally. The middle, however, was much more elusive and went through more changes.
In terms of the end, I knew that Lilac would “try on” what she knew of her father’s identity and this process—the journey—was more important in many ways than the actual communication with the father. This theme stayed the same though the story events on this journey shifted during the revision process.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?
A: Something Lilac and I have in common is having a lot of fear of change and of having the rug pulled out from under you. This happened to me in a few times as a kid, teen, and adult and I always wished I could have been more prepared for these life-changing moments.
Although Lilac undergoes a series of surprising “switchbacks,” she also walks bravely towards change. Ultimately, she surprises herself with how much her life has been changed by the better because of (or in reaction to) the precise changes that scared her at first.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m very excited about my work in progress! Without giving too much away, I can tell you it is another MG in verse—this time with three different revolving point of view kids, each in a distinct verse style.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I think anyone who enjoys a classic coming-of-age story will enjoy Lilac and the Switchback. In addition, it is a great match for readers who enjoy verse novels, a small-town setting, natural imagery, complicated family situations, hiking, British tea, identity exploration…and the Philadelphia Zoo!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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