9 minute read
Perfectly Imperfect
Once upon a time...That’s how many of our favorite childhood stories begin. Simply hearing this familiar phrase transports us to far-off kingdoms where princes and princesses embark on grand adventures. Along the way, our heroes encounter villains and have to perform tests of courage, or prove that they’re pure of heart. Inevitably, the villains are defeated, every conflict is resolved, and they all live happily ever after. It’s a time-honored narrative that some argue makes for a perfect fairytale.
But what if things weren’t so perfect? Consider a princess who is flawed, apprehensive, and wrestles with self-doubt. As a member of royalty, she would be pressured to stand tall, even with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her bright smile would have to conceal a dark reality, including a less-than-charming prince. Would that story still be perfect?
This was the intriguing idea behind Madina Chougui’s debut novel, Anything But Perfect. The book’s ingénue, Ophilia, becomes a young queen in the midst of war. She struggles under the weight of the crown as she discovers more about her own family’s insidious past and about her true self. There are no traditional villains, but rather a cast of suspicious characters that keep the reader guessing who the protagonist can trust. All the while, our young hero attempts to maintain her regal demeanor for the sake of her kingdom.
It seems fair to say that this is not your average fairy tale. Then again, Madina’s not your average author. For starters, she’s only 13 years old. The eighth grader from Luke Elementary School shared that her love of literature began back in the second grade, when her teacher recommended the first book in the Harry Potter series to her.
“That’s when I fell in love with reading,” Madina recalls. Since then, she’s become an avid reader for whom no genre is off limits.
“I love young adult romance books. Those are my favorite,” Madina said. “But I can do a nice thriller/suspense, or historical fiction.”
Making the transition from reader to writer also came as a result of a teacher throwing down the proverbial gauntlet. Madina’s full length novel - 237 pages to be exact - started out as a short story. The assignment was to write a 15-page original story on a topic of choice. The then-fifth-grader started looking for inspiration among her personal interests.
“At the time I was really into a show with a historical vibe,” she admits. While the period drama may have been the inspiration for the story’s setting, Madina still needed a theme. For that, the young author turned to more recent historical events.
“I remember looking at Princess Diana on television. She always looked so fearful and scared, like she didn’t want to be there.” That observation sparked the idea that life behind palace doors may not be so ideal. From there, it was an easy decision for Madina to write her story from the perspective of a princess whose life doesn’t quite live up to everyone’s expectations.
Ironically, after successfully completing the assignment, Madina wasn’t satisfied leaving her self-described “silly creative story” about self-acceptance in the short format. She wanted to turn it into a full fledged novel. She knew it would be a long road, but with the support of her family, especially her mom, she was determined to stay the course.
“Every time I wrote a chapter, I’d read it to [my mom] and ask her if she likes it. She always said yes,” Madina recalls with a laugh. “But I liked to ask anyway. She was the first one who got to read the book.”
Madina’s mom was much more than just an agreeable sounding board. “She was there to support me. Sometimes things got hard with writer’s block, and she would tell me, ‘It’s ok, you’ve got this! You’re going to make this into a book.’”
Over the next few years, the storyline blossomed as Madina delved deeper into the tale’s events. She also fleshed out the cast of characters, making them realistically complex and relatable. But no matter how much the story evolved along the way, Madina’s message never waivered. The story remained an unapologetic cautionary tale about the pressures of perfection.
“I would say I wrote it for the perfectionist who thinks perfection is all they wanted. You have to realize that being yourself is more important than societal expectations,” Madina said.
Now that Anything But Perfect had been reincarnated as a novel, Madina realized she would need one more crucial element to complete her passion projectcover art. For that she knew just who to turn to.
Fellow Luke Elementary eighthgrader, Jocelyn Sanchez, has been interested in art since she was little. While she considers drawing more her forte, she has been known to paint and sculpt as well. Her talents cross over from the visual arts to the performing arts as an accomplished guitar and piano player.
The Van Gogh inspired illustrator admits her early works were somewhat amateur, but that didn’t deter Jocelyn from pursuing her passions.
“Even though [my drawings] weren’t the best, I would still love to draw. I joined Art Club at school, and I just started practicing more and more and over time I got better.”
It was that perseverance and dedication to her art that made her the ideal choice for the ever-growing Anything But Perfect project. Madina wasted no time recruiting her talented friend.
Madina exuberantly recalls, “It was August 1st, the first day of school this year. I asked Jocelyn, ‘Hey, remember how I told you I’m writing a book? You’re an amazing artist, do you mind reading it and then making a cover?’”
Jocelyn happily accepted the challenge and set off to work. She quickly discovered that epitomizing an entire novel in a single illustration is no small feat. However, after reading the story and getting to know the characters, she knew exactly what the cover should convey.
“It’s just the way that Ophelia felt throughout the whole story, and especially the way that she would feel when she was outside,” Jocelyn said. “I think [the design] was a good idea because readers don’t fully understand the cover until they’ve read the story and then look back.”
With her inspiration for the cover art, Jocelyn went to work. She would sketch at home and then collaborate with Madina during their free time and lunch breaks at school. But much like the written work started out as a first draft, the cover also went through a few versions.
“On the first cover, her dress was going to be green,” Jocelyn recalled. “But we realized it wouldn’t pop with the background, so we switched it to white.”
Not one to be derailed, Jocelyn was willing to revisit and revise the cover art until it was a true reflection of their vision.
With a complete novel in hand, Madina and Jocelyn started looking for ways to get their work published. Getting their book into the hands of young readers was more than a personal goal. Madina genuinely wanted to spread her message of self-acceptance.
“I felt that maybe some people could benefit, even if it’s one person who read what I wrote and said, ‘I’m not the only one who feels this way!’”
With an unwavering resolve to get their novel published, the girls turned to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. According to Madina, the process is fairly straightforward: an author submits their book, title, and cover art, and then it gets reviewed for up to seven days.
But like most things that seem simple on the surface, the process had a few unexpected snags.
Madina recalls, “I didn’t format the first copy correctly, so I was in tears. Like, oh my gosh, I ruined it, now I have to redo everything!”
Luckily, it only took a bit of research to figure out how to make the needed corrections. In the end, they both agree that it was worth overcoming the setbacks and frustration in order to see the final result.
These unflappable young ladies not only wanted to be encouraging to others via their book, but their tenacity during the entire process served as an example of hard work paying off.
Jocelyn has this message for her peers, “Just try your best, you don’t have to be good at it. What matters is that you like doing it. Sometimes you may think you don’t have talent, but if you have passion you can push through.”
It was only fitting that Madina and Jocelyn received the news that their book was officially published and available for purchase during Thanksgiving Break, surrounded by the families that had supported them.
Jocelyn shared, “My family was happy and proud. They were going to post the link everywhere so everyone could buy it!”
Madina’s family was equally emotional, “My mom was almost in tears because she was the first person to see it. She was there for every single second, so it was more surreal to her.”
Since its release, Anything But Perfect has been the featured title for the staff’s book club at Luke Elementary. It quickly became recommended reading for other teachers and administrators, making Madina and Jocelyn district-wide celebrities overnight. Categorized as a teen and young adult wholesome romance, the novel also currently enjoys a perfect five-star rating on Amazon.
The next chapter for Madina will be as a freshman at Dysart High School, where she intends to take AP English along with other AP courses. She ultimately would like to become a crime scene investigator and plans on studying criminology and forensics in college. While this may seem like a departure from her authorial roots, she would like to continue writing as a hobby.
Jocelyn is considering Shadow Ridge High School for next year. She would like to avail herself of the art classes there. She hopes to someday combine her artistic skills with her love of architecture and pursue a career as an architect.
So, do these career paths mean readers have heard the last of the perfectly imperfect Ophelia, or is there another Madina and Jocelyn collaboration on the horizon? Both girls smiled silently, looking at one another when asked this question, but the twinkle in their eyes gave it away.
Madina excitedly confessed, “Ok, I wanted to keep it a secret, but yes! We’re testing out a sequel!”
A sequel. That sounds perfect.
