Brigit Young is the author of the new middle grade novel Banned Books, Crop Tops, and Other Bad Influences. Her other books include Bright. She lives in New Jersey.
Q: What inspired you to write Banned Books, Crop Tops, and Other Bad Influences, and how did you create your character Rose?
A: First of all, thank you for having me on your blog!
When I was growing up, I had several friends who seemed exciting yet dangerous. They were all a little more grown up than me in some areas, though at times their wildness actually made them emotionally immature. My mother thought of some of them as “bad influences.”
I felt a pull to write about this experience, but I wasn’t sure how. Once I started to ruminate on the idea of “bad influences,” I thought about what else in life is often looked at as a “bad influence” by adults. That led me to banned books.
I wanted to combine multiple elements of people, ideas, and places that grown-ups look at as bad influences and explore it from the point of view of a kid.
Rose was born of both the theme of parents wanting to shelter their kids and a regrettable moment in my young life when I ditched a good friend for the glamorous new girl. That still haunts me (luckily, she forgives me)! Emotionally, I could connect with Rose through my own experience, so that served as a jumping off point for the character.
Q: The writer Katherine Marsh said of the book, “Through her engaging and complex middle school characters, Young deftly tackles how to bridge the divisions that can tear us apart while still standing up for what we believe.” What do you think of that description?
A: I’m so grateful to her for saying that! I wanted to make sure that this story didn’t preach or feel didactic, and I didn’t want a kid with a parent who is for or even sympathetic to banning books to pick up this one and get the sense I was insulting their family.
I wanted every kid – from all ideological backgrounds – to have a way into the story. I have family members I love deeply, but we have views on the world that are about as different as you can get!
So what does one do with that? It’s complicated and messy and painful. Kids are dealing with this pain every day in a multitude of scenarios. So, to me, I think Katherine Marsh is pointing out that this book strongly encourages standing up for what’s right, but it explores how to manage the relationships that can be challenged by doing so.
Q: Can you say more about why you included book banning as a major theme in the novel?
A: Kids all over the country are forced to figure out how to grow and change and learn while the adults around them rage at one another over how to raise them.
While the core of the story is the friendship between a sheltered kid and an authority-questioning kid who grew up distinctly un-sheltered– with both pros and cons to each situation – the fight over banned books reflects the conflict in their burgeoning relationship.
Are ideas dangerous? When can kids learn about the wider world? When should they? Why are adults so afraid of that? And how does a kid navigate their parents’ fears while trying to grow? I wanted to explore these questions on multiple levels.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I made several changes! I knew how the friendships would ultimately pan out, but I did not know exactly how we would get there. I had to push myself to heighten the conflict in the plot. That’s usually a problem for me! I make things too easy for my characters. I had to find a third act that pushed them into new states of being.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m drafting another middle grade novel, but its contents may or may not ever see the light of day! I often work on a book and then start from scratch if it turns out to not be the right project.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I would just like to add that if you are curious about how to help in the fight for kids to have the freedom to read, please check out Kelly Jensen’s articles on BookRiot: https://bookriot.com/author/kellyjensen/
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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