Penguin Loves YA Book Club discussion

We're so excited to announce that Julie Berry, author of All the Truth That's In Me, is going to be here to answer all of your All the Truth That's In Me related questions! Post your questions in this thread and Julie will answer them on September 26th!

First off, love the story... I couldn't put it down!! My questions - what made you want to write the story in second person narrative? It made the story hard for my to follow in the beginning and then it grew on me, and I got used to it pretty fast. Just curious about why that worked best for this story.

Also, what is the reason behind the fragments of story, instead of full chapters? Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the way the story is written, and I got as much out of it as I would have with full chapters. I was just wondering how that decision came to be. It's so fluid and beautifully written.

Hi Julie! I must say I adore this book.

I was wondering if you could talk a bit about the comparisons to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Did you set out to write a modern take on the classic novel or was it something that developed organically?

Thanks for your time!

I loved this story! If you could have dinner with any of the characters in All The Truth That's in Me, who would you choose and why?

Thank you!

Hey Julie, I loved your book! I had to force myself to put it down so I could at least get a couple of hours of sleep before work. What made you want to tell Judith's story? How did it come to you?

I really love this book, particularly the complicated characters – I think you did such a good job making them feel like real, flawed people. How did you come up with such varied and interesting people for your novel? Do you take traits from people you know in real life?

The book was incredible. Was Roswell Station inspired by a real-life town?

I'm so curious, why did you chose to write this book in second person? This is an unusual lens for the reader but in this book, I felt like it really worked!

What first drew you to writing?

Hi Julie,

I loved the book and it's immediacy. I found the NYT book review particularly interesting (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/boo...) in terms of your book and it's perspective on women, truth, and society.

I love that this could be a jumping off point for teens to get speaking about feminism. Was this something you intended when you wrote it? Was it important for you to shed light on these themes?

Hi Megan! Thanks for your questions. Second person was an experimental choice on my part. Kind of an accident, really. It's how the project began. I was reading about point of view in a book on craft, and as I read about the perils of second person, and why it's rarely used, my stubborn side reared up and said, "I need to try that." So I sat down then and there and tried to think of a way to tell a novel to "you." The first page of All the Truth That's In Me was the result. It's not every day that writing exercises click so well. The short sections were just what happened. Something about the "you" voice seemed to want to be told in short bits. I think in part it fits the fractured nature of Judith's thought processes, as a recoverer from trauma, but I think it also prevents her intensely focused point of view from becoming claustrophobic. It creates breathing room. Thanks for stopping by!

Julie wrote: "Hi Megan! Thanks for your questions. Second person was an experimental choice on my part. Kind of an accident, really. It's how the project began. I was reading about point of view in a book on cra..."

Oops -- I think maybe I should have kept your question in my answer. I'll do it better next time. :) JGB

Bri wrote: "I loved this story! If you could have dinner with any of the characters in All The Truth That's in Me, who would you choose and why?

Thank you!"

LUCAS!!! Especially if I was twenty years younger than I am, and not married. I have a major crush on him. Of course, he's patterned a bit after my husband, so I guess that's all right. There is a character who's even more silent than Judith in this story, who has always interested me. She's like a ghost who passes through, and her broken heart and forbidden love have always intrigued me. That is Lucas's mother, Ezra's wife. I'd love to hear more from her. Great question! Thank you for visiting.

Nights wrote: "What first drew you to writing?"

A lifetime of book-munching. I tell students they should consume a large and steady diet of books. I think anytime we love something tremendously, we naturally gravitate toward learning how to create it. People who love cookies learn to bake; people who love reading often try to write, especially if they haven't had earlier experiences that wounded their confidence to try. I'm all about trying to offer aspiring writers permission to go for it. Also, from the time I was a child, the feel of a pen in my hand was an immediate and unexplainable source of pleasure. The same was true of learning to type. I guess these were early signs that words would be my job someday. :)

Amanda wrote: "The book was incredible. Was Roswell Station inspired by a real-life town?"

Hi Amanda,

Not really. At least I don't think so. I did grow up in a small town, but it wasn't this small. Small towns do fascinate me, though. They are mini-cultures. Their size removes the possibility of anonymity, and it creates tighter webs of connection between townspeople. Those webs can bind people in loving ways, but they can also strangle. It seems to me that once you're branded as a certain kind of person in a small town, it can be very hard to overcome it, and that's why some people must leave to reinvent themselves. At the same time, there is a comfort to the closeness that often eventually brings them back. Judith's interaction with Roswell Station is so vitally important to her personal growth. Thanks for visiting!

Written Melodies wrote: "Hey Julie, I loved your book! I had to force myself to put it down so I could at least get a couple of hours of sleep before work. What made you want to tell Judith's story? How did it come to you?"

Thank you! This book came to me accidentally, through a writing exercise in experimenting with second person voice, of all the unglamorous things. But Judith's voice was so compelling to me from that first page, that very first moment, that I knew I was onto something. The first section, Roman Numeral I, as it appears in the book, is essentially unchanged from that first writing exercise. It was a good writing day. :)

Marirosa Mia wrote: "What were the first seeds of this story? Did it start off as a single scene or character and grow from there?"

Hi there Marirosa,

It did start as a single scene, as part of a writing exercise. But Judith's voice popped out at me so distinctly, that it quickly became a character-obsessed project for me. (I needed a term stronger than "character-driven.") :)

Bridget wrote: "I'm so curious, why did you chose to write this book in second person? This is an unusual lens for the reader but in this book, I felt like it really worked!"

Hey Bridget,

The choice was so random! I was reading about it in a craft book, and thought, I'd like to give it a try. Simple as that. A lucky day for me. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Emily wrote: "I'm curious to hear which authors / books / characters inspire you!"

I'm going to answer with authors. Jane Austen, C.S. Lewis, P.G. Wodehouse, Terry Pratchett, Martine Leavitt, Robin McKinley, Agatha Christie, the Bronte sisters. Even as I write this, I'm conscious of how many others have left a huge mark: Madeleine L'Engle...I could go on and on.

Alexis wrote: "Hi Julie,

I loved the book and it's immediacy. I found the NYT book review particularly interesting (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/boo......"

Hi Alexis,

Thank you for your question. I was thrilled with that NY Times review and its reminders of timeless need to preserve and advocate for women's voices. Although it was the story, the voice (ahem), and Judith's character that pulled me into the project, I soon became aware of the opportunities a story like this presented to comment on the urgency I feel about women claiming their voices and their identities. I try not to let message get in the way of story as I write, but I do hope readers will find something empowering in the story. Thank you for stopping by to chat!

Concepcion wrote: "I really love this book, particularly the complicated characters – I think you did such a good job making them feel like real, flawed people. How did you come up with such varied and interesting pe..."

Hi Concepcion,

There's a little bit of my husband in every leading man I write about. He's pretty terrific. Otherwise I would say that these characters are not based on anyone I know. There's such a gulf in my mind between the people I've known, and the people I've come to know through fiction. There's very little cross-pollination. It's like they live in different, I don't know, filing cabinets. :) I'm grateful to know that you feel they were convincingly round and real. That's high praise, to my mind. Thanks for visiting!

Rachel wrote: "Hi Julie! I must say I adore this book.

I was wondering if you could talk a bit about the comparisons to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Did you set out to write a modern take on the c..."

Hi Rachel! Thanks for your question. I wasn't thinking of The Scarlet Letter at all when I began the project, but of course as the world surrounding Roswell Station came into clearer focus, I realized that comparisons to that setting would be inevitable. In time I saw that, of course, Judith herself could be compared to and contrasted with Hester Prynne, but I didn't try to utilize that in any particular way. I hadn't read TSL since high school. Long after I'd finished the book, I reread TSL and was struck by some of the symbols that both books shared. In particular, I was intrigued by the use of pillories in both books, public platforms for the shaming and humiliation of offenders against society's norms, and how in both books, the pillories became triumphant spaces for the protagonists, who transcended their alienation and shame while upon the pillory, and claimed their own victory there. In the case of Judith, and Arthur Dimmesdale, they did so by finally speaking. In the case of Hester Prynne, she did so by defiantly remaining silent.