Taylor Tyng is the author of the new middle grade novel Clara Poole and the Wrong Way Up. It's a sequel to his novel Clara Poole and the Long Way Round. He lives in Massachusetts.
Q: This is your second novel featuring your character Clara Poole--do you think she’s changed from one book to the next?
A: Absolutely! Surviving an around-the-world balloon race tends to have that effect. However, as much as Clara gains newfound confidence from her time at the air race, her next adventure stirs a new set of emotions—mainly doubt and self-worth.
Clara arrives at Air Academy to find that it is not at all what she expects, and the rest of the world is questioning whether she is worthy of the opportunity. In many ways, this next book, while still full of death-defying feats, deals much more with Clara's interiority, grappling with the choices that will shape her belief system.
Q: What inspired the plot of Clara Poole and the Wrong Way Up?
A: I am fascinated by how people respond to adversity and make choices that define their values. My two daughters (12 and 16) are navigating many of the same pressures Clara faces in The Wrong Way Up. It's a lot of change, learning to take risks and stand for something while learning to accept oneself in transition.
In particular, I wanted to explore the notion that people are in constant flux—especially when young. Yet, our tendency is often to pigeonhole people, rush to decide who they are, and lock them into some assigned perception.
My youngest daughter has this beautiful aspect to her—a generosity that allows people second chances and room to change. I think we need more of that in the world. I thought Clara's journey at Air Academy would be a perfect place to explore these dynamics through the crises of evolving friendship and personal perception.
Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says, “Clever and brave
Clara is as winsome as ever, especially as she tackles ballooning’s patriarchal
underpinnings...” What do you think of that description?
A: I love it! I wanted to explore how authority figures—positive and negative—shape our values and beliefs and how opportunity is given differently. However, I also wanted to create a discussion about equitable thinking that included a mentor with the right ideas but maybe the wrong methods, which drives Clara to question larger concepts of merit, legacy, and equality.
Q: Did you need to do any research to write the novel, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?
A: Loads and loads! Knot tying became a strangely important aspect of this book, as well as how pressurized cans of shaving cream behave at high altitudes.
Oddly, though, much of my research was done to set up things that will happen in book three, which I'd love to reveal but won't. Leave it to say that there are many amazingly remote places on this earth that are still virtually untouched by humans and should remain so.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm working on revisions for a Tim Burton-like middle-grade contemporary fantasy due out in 2026 about a young girl named Sprout who goes on an adventure to discover the truth about her particularly peculiar abnormality and others like her.
I'm also drafting a very different kind of paranormal story about a ghost orphanage that I'm super excited about.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I'm booking school visits (in-person and virtual) for the fall now. I adore doing school visits, so if you're a librarian or educator looking for fun workshops or readings, don't hesitate to contact me at info@taylortyng.com.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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