Award-Winning YA AUTHORS VISIT GCDS

Pablo Cartaya

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

Pablo Cartaya, author, speaker, actor, and educator, visited the Middle School on May 3. In 2018, he received a Pura Belpré Author Honor for his middle-grade novel The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora (Middle School librarian Susan Polos was a member of the 2018 Pura Belpré Award Selection Committee). Students in the Middle School were encouraged to read this book, chosen in part because its theme—the importance of community—is a central theme at GCDS as well. Mr. Cartaya spoke to the entire Middle School about the book and had more in-depth conversations with students in Jose Salazar’s Spanish classes.

Mr. Salazar, Middle School Spanish Teacher, said “Pablo was excellent at interacting with our students in Spanish class. His enthusiasm and passion for sharing his experiences made the sessions engaging and educational. The students had the opportunity to ask Pablo questions about the characters and themes in his book. They also asked him questions about how he integrates his family heritage into the books he writes. As he spoke, he moved from Spanish to English while using personal anecdotes to explain why he writes what he writes in his books. He engaged students in exciting discussions about family, culture, and ideas about community.”

RAJANI LAROCCA Red, White, and Whole

On Friday, April 22, members of GCDS’s Mock Newbery Club met Rajani LaRocca, the author of Red, White, and Whole, which the group voted their 2022 winner. Red, White, and Whole also won an actual Newbery Honor as well as the Walter Award. The Upper Elementary/Middle School interdivisional Mock Newbery Club is open to students in fifth through eighth grades. Students read, discuss, and evaluate eligible books, using the criteria in the Newbery Award manual. Over breakfast, the students shared their thoughts about the book with the author. They asked probing questions about decisions made regarding characters and plot, spoke of the reasons they felt it rose above other books they read, and even asked about how books are published and how to get an agent. One student noted that this was the first time she had seen herself in a book while another said he could not put the book down. The author signed a copy of the book for each student. Each of the books signed for the students features not only the Newbery Honor medal but also our own GCDS Tiger Paw medal, signifying both of these awards.

Upper School English Teacher Publishes Debut Novel

Soon Wiley Writes a Thriller about Family, Identity, and Cultural Expectations

BY ANDREW NIBLOCK Director of Schoolwide Initiatives

On April 26, Greenwich Country Day Upper School English teacher, Soon Wiley, published his debut novel, When We Fell Apart. It’s a mystery that explores questions of identity, love, and human connection. The novel, published by Dutton, Penguin Random House, tells the story of a Korean American who travels to Seoul for work, hoping for a sense of belonging he has never really felt. That belonging doesn’t come easily, and after he falls for a Korean college student, circumstances conspire to throw everything upside down.

It is a romantic gesture to think about writing a novel—putting one’s story on paper for the world to read. The reality is that it takes exceptional determination to put in the time, battle the self-doubt, and just keep grinding. This is especially true for first-time writers, who don’t know if they can climb the proverbial mountain.

Wiley climbed the mountain, and his story is in the world’s hands. He is spending his days working with young writers on Stanwich Road, and he has had to reserve a few evenings for the events that come with a book launch. It is the culmination of seven years of work. Wiley has a lot to share with us about his novel and writing. I had an opportunity to ask a few questions about both.

When did you first think of yourself as a writer? Even now, with my debut novel about to be published, I’m not sure I think of myself as a writer. I tend to think about the occupation of writing as a little bit transitory. When I’m writing, I’m a writer, when I’m not, I’m not. My discomfort aside, I really only dared to think of myself as a writer when I signed with a literary agent. That was the first time I felt like getting my novel published was a possibility.

What about writing challenges you? Can I say everything? One of the more difficult aspects of writing is sustaining your writing efforts. It’s easy to get a spark for a story and start writing, but where it usually gets difficult, at least for me, is somewhere around the one hundred page mark. That’s kind of the point of no return. You can still toss it away, but if you keep going, you’re committing to working on that particular project. If you keep working on it, it can be tough to sustain that daily effort, especially once the initial burst of energy and enthusiasm fades.

What about writing inspires you? I’ve always loved stories growing up, and there’s no better way to tell a good story than through writing. Sometimes I think people forget that even though people don’t read as much as they used to, pretty much all the media we consume is still rooted in writing. Television shows, movies, theater—all of these mediums require good writing and a strong narrative arc.

Who/what inspires your writing? I’m inspired by the authors who came before me that I admire deeply. Ernest Hemingway, Edith Wharton, Toni Morrison, Haruki Murakami, and Richard Ford are a few of my favorites.

What wisdom about writing do you wish for your students? Never stop revising. No matter how many times you work on a piece of writing, you can always make it better. To some this is frustrating, but if you embrace the continual process of writing and revision, it can be immensely rewarding.

Is When We Fell Apart autobiographical? Not particularly. I did spend a year living in Seoul, South Korea, and I do share some similar traits with the protagonist, but for the most part, the book is a work of fiction.

What was the spark that became this book? Initially, I was interested in exploring relationships and how we often think we know people, when in fact we often know very little about them, even in intimate relationships. As I kept writing, that initial seed of interest turned into a larger project that explored questions about identity, family, and cultural expectations.

Who is this novel written for? I’m hopeful that anyone, regardless of their background, will find the novel interesting and worth a read. With that said, I think the novel is written for anyone who likes mysteries with a bit of depth. I’d also like to think that anyone who is interested in learning more about Korean culture will appreciate the book.

What research did you do? I lived in Seoul for about a year after graduating from college, but once I actually started writing the novel, it had been about four or five years since I’d actually

Initially, I was interested in exploring relationships and how we often think we know people, when in fact we often know very little about them, even in intimate relationships. As I kept writing, that initial seed of interest turned into a larger project that explored questions about identity, family, and cultural expectations. —Soon Wiley, Author been back. In order to get the setting right, I spent a lot of time remembering and imagining Seoul. In early drafts, I was really stubborn about not looking at photos of Seoul or researching anything on the internet. I did my best to immerse myself in the city through my imagination. I’m a huge fan of writers who really emphasize sensory details in their fiction, so I wanted to lean heavily on that during the writing process. Later on, when I was revising the novel, I did a bit of research on the internet, just to make sure I’d gotten things correctly. When I finally found out that the book was going to be published, I was planning on going to Seoul, just to fact-check a few things, but I ended up not being able to go because of COVID, which only led to more Googling. How long did it take to write? From start to finish the novel took me 7 years.

What was your writing process? On a granular level, I tried to write for at least an hour a day every day. This writing schedule was of course impacted by work, so sometimes that hour was only 30 minutes. In the summer and on vacations I tended to write for longer periods of time. When I had a finished draft, I took a few weeks off and then came back to it with fresh eyes. I also shared drafts with some trusted readers. At some point, I’d written and revised it to the point where I felt like I’d taken it as far as it could go. Writing a novel is a bit like riding a rollercoaster. It’s a wild ride; there are highs and lows, moments where you are elated and moments where you think you will surely die, but at some point you get to the end and you think—that wasn’t so bad, I think I’ll do that again. What I’m trying to say with this poorly constructed analogy is that the process was a long and arduous one, but one that I enjoyed nonetheless.

“Wiley’s tale is a knockout, its assured narrative ebbing and flowing with grace while painting a haunting and anguished portrait of youth in all its quiet desperation.”

—Booklist (starred review)

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