Kyle Lukoff is the author of the new middle grade novel A World Worth Saving. His many other books include Too Bright to See.
Q: What inspired you to write A World Worth Saving, and how did you create your character A?
A: My inspiration was very simple: a librarian friend (Angie Manfredi) told me that I should write a book about a golem that protects trans kids. I get a lot of unsolicited advice about what kind of books I should write, but in this one case I thought my friend was on to something.
A was a hard character to pin down, because he is in a very difficult, transitional place in his life.
He's isolated from friends, peers, and community. He isn't allowed to be himself in the privacy of his own home, and he isn't allowed to be anywhere else. He has a vague sense of what he wants his life to look like, but little to no ability to get it from here to there.
And it turns out that without many of those touchstones, it's hard to craft a believable, engaging main character. All I can say as to "how" I did it is, I did my best.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The title of "A World Worth Saving" came about as a result of many emails between my editor and myself, with input from the sales and marketing teams. I don't remember how we landed on it, but it took quite a long time, and I remember a feeling of pressure, like we had to pick something before it was released.
But it turns out that it's a very fitting title, because it gives you the sense that there is a lot happening in this book, but it also leaves open several crucial question for the reader to answer for themselves.
Q: The Publishers Weekly review of the book says, “This superb fantastical adventure tackles serious real-world problems faced by queer youth via unique interpretations of Jewish mysticism that, paired with A’s powerfully raw emotional journey, further flesh out the thrilling plot.” What do you think of that description?
A: I am glad the reviewer feels that way! One thing I know about trade reviews, though, is that they represent one person's opinion, so I try to keep that in perspective. My primary audience is young people, so their reactions to the book matter more than anything.
Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I had no idea. In the first two drafts, the main climactic battle between Good and Evil ended with...the main character just like thinking really hard about it, and then some stuff exploded and hooray they won!!!! I knew that was, in fact, a terrible conclusion, but absolutely could not think of how to get the book out of the corner I painted it into.
It took a lot of really difficult brain-bending work to finally come up with a solution that was both satisfying and plausible, and it turns out that the answer was something I had casually added in the beginning of the novel without really thinking about its deeper implications.
This book became unrecognizable from the first draft, in the best possible way. However, I hope I never have to do that again, because it was VERY stressful.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I just turned in the last (hopefully) major draft of my fourth novel! It's my first young adult project, and it is SO much fun. Any fans of my first two middle grade novels will be thrilled with this one.
After that, I only have one more project that is contracted but unwritten, so I'm going to figure that out and then I am going to take a break, because it will be the fourth book I will have brought from zero to finished in under two years, which is creatively exhausting.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: It is a very complicated time to write both trans-themed and Jewish-themed books for young people, but I believe in creating new visions of the future through liberation-oriented stories.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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