A Visit from "Masterminds" Author Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman -- a.k.a "the G-Man" or "Special K" -- says he's been writing for more than three-quarters of his life. It's not that he's that old, it's just that he wrote his first book when he was 12 years old and in the 7th grade. It was published when he was 14 and a freshman in high school; by the time he graduated from high school, he had written and published five books.

Photo by Owen Kassimir

Now 51 years old, Gordon has published an astounding 85 books. More than 25 million copies of those books have been sold, and the books have been translated into nearly 30 languages. Gordon's trademarks as an author include writing fast-paced plots and creating believable characters with whom any young reader can identify. His books include: "Ungifted;" the "Swindle" series; the "Dive," "Everest," "Island" and "Titanic" trilogies, and books in the best-selling "39 Clues" series. (One of Gordon's early books also has my vote for one of the catchiest kid's book titles ever:  Nose Pickers From Outer Space.)

Gordon recently visited my library as part of our partnership with Politics & Prose, the premier Washington, D.C. independent bookstore. He was in town promoting his newest novel, Masterminds (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, $16.99, ages 8-12).  It's a page-turner of the first order in which five kids discover that their seemingly perfect town hides some disturbing secrets, some of which shake them to their emotional core. Gordon lets each character take a turn telling parts of the story, a device that adds both interest and suspense. I got an advance review copy of the book, and once I started reading it, I couldn't put the book down, and ended up reading it straight through -- something I rarely do. It's clear that this will be one of our most popular new books at the library, perfect for both kids who enjoy complex thrillers and for reluctant readers who will find themselves pulled into the story from the first page.

Booklist agrees, giving Masterminds a starred review and noting : "The compelling, twisty mystery has a truly gratifying payoff, and the emotional depth of the characters, not to mention the steadily building pace, will keep readers engaged to the final page, which happily lays the groundwork for a sequel." Kirkus, meanwhile, said of Masterminds: “A fresh premise, good pacing, surprising twists and engaging characters all combine to make this a series worth following."

 Gordon himself is an engaging speaker, and his presentation at the library drew a good number of both new and longtime fans. One adult fan brought her copy of one of the first books Gordon ever published, saying it still was one of her all-time favorites and asking him to sign it for her. Audience members were fascinated by the fact the Gordon published his first book at such a young age. He explained that owed it to the fact that his English teacher in the 7th grade was the school's track coach. The coach had never taught English before and, for a creative writing assignment, told his students: "Just work on whatever you want for the rest of the year."

The result was Gordon's first novel, This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall!. Gordon just happened to be the class representative for the Scholastic Arrow Book Club "and so I thought I was practically an employee." Once he finished his manuscript (typed by his mother), Gordon mailed it to the same address where he sent the book order forms. Somehow, his manuscript found its way to the right person at Scholastic and "a few days after my 13th birthday, I signed a contract for my first book." The book was published a year later, and Gordon's career path was set, although he did take time to earn a degree in dramatic visual writing from New York University.

At the library presentation, Gordon spent time answering questions from the audience. As always, someone wanted to know where he gets his ideas. Gordon responded that one way he gets ideas is by "observing things." For example, Gordon said he observed that "a book with an award sticker and a dog on the cover means that dog is a goner." So he decided to write No More Dead Dogs, in which a student whose school essay pans a classic book in which a dog dies is punished by being forced to be part of the school play -- based on that classic book. In Gordon's usual style, however, the student has the final word and all turns out well, even for the dog.

Research also is important in developing ideas for his books, Gordon added. For example, he had the idea of writing a series about kids who were vying to be the youngest-ever climber on Mount Everest. Gordon was able to add even more drama when he learned through research that there's not enough oxygen at the highest reaches of Everest to allow a rescue helicopter if a climber gets into trouble. As he put it: "Writing adventure stories is the art of coming up with cool stuff that goes wrong."

 Finally, the question "What if?" provides many great book ideas, Gordon said, adding that's how he got the idea of Masterminds. Gordon started thinking about "whether people are good or evil as part of their nature or whether it's by experience." So he though, "what if there was an experiment that cloned exact copies of some of the worst people ever?" The clones would then be raised in a "perfect place," where they would be raised as regular kids by people they would think were their natural parents. For the experiment to work, however the cloned kids couldn't ever know about it. Of course, that's exactly what does happen in Masterminds, as the five main characters come to the realization that their town -- and the only life they've known -- is a sham.

"It was a challenge to write about these kids who are exact copies of some of the worst bank robbers and gangsters, but who are also real kids," Gordon said. But he wouldn't answer the question of exactly who the kids are cloned from, saying that revelation "comes late  in the series."

Soon enough it was time for the evening's last question, so Gordon would have enough time to sign everyone's books. "What author would you most like to meet?" asked a young audience member. Gordon was quick with his answer: Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Why? Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (the first book in the series) is a book that Gordon re-reads almost every year. "It is like an instruction manual for writing a great kid's book. It's got everything in it. So she is the one author I absolutely would love to meet."

END NOTES: Thanks to Kerri Poore of Politics & Prose for setting up the event with us, and to Caroline Sun of HarperCollins for sending me an advance copy of Masterminds, and all of the jpgs and info I needed to publicize the event and make it a success.

And thanks to Gordon himself for such a great presentation, and especially for signing my 24-year-old daughter's copies of the Everest trilogy -- a series that inspired her to become a rock climber.

The Raina, Dave, and Jimmy Show

If you know a kid who likes graphic novels (and who doesn't?), then you likely are familiar with books by Jimmy Gownley, Dave Roman, and the reigning queen of kids' comics, Raina Telgemeier. So it was no surprise to see a big crowd of excited kids and parents yesterday when the three graphic novelists presented a program at Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C.

All three have won top awards for their work, and they've also been among the first wave of those filling the new -- and ever growing -- market for graphic novels for kids. Gownley's Amelia Rules books are beloved by our library's young readers, who especially enjoy the feisty Amelia. Roman's two Astronaut Academy books may be set in outer space, but readers love the fact that the characters face the kind of everyday friendship challenges that every kid understands. And Telgemeier's books, especially her Eisner Award-winning graphic memoir Smile, are among the most popular in our entire library. Kids are just fascinated to read about the emotional consequences of the dental drama that Telegeimer endured in middle school and high school.

At Saturday's event, the trio focused on presenting their newest books before taking questions from the audience. Gownley went first, talking about his new graphic memoir, The Dumbest Idea Ever!, which details how he created and self-published comics as a teenager. Gownley's initial efforts at creating comics were scorned by his best friend, who told him: "You should make a comic book about kids like us!" As Gownley told the crowd on Saturday: "I thought that was the dumbest idea ever, but it changed my life." Gownley's decision to create comics "about kids like us" resulted in the best-selling Amelia Rules series, which has shot him to stardom in the world of kids' comics.

In my library, kids who have read The Dumbest Idea Ever! have loved it, and it's become a word-of-mouth favorite. As Telgemeier does in Smile and her newest book Sisters, Gownley uses the graphic memoir format to both entertain and inspire kids. This trailer gives a sense of the pleasures readers will find in The Dumbest Idea Ever!.

Roman's Astronaut Academy books, meanwhile, feature wild characters (time-traveling pandas, dinosaurs with wheels, etc.) and over-the-top humor. Roman's books, featuring black-and-white artwork done in a manga/anime kind of mash-up style, are set in an outer space boarding school where the most popular sport is Fireball.  In the first book, Zero Gravity, we meet our spiky-haired hero, Hakata Soy, whose impressive quiff is more than a match for Tintin's. As a new student, Hakata is just trying to figure out the social hierarchy at the astronaut training school when suddenly he must cope with defeating a villain designed to look just like him.

In the second book, Re-Entry, Hakata and other Astronaut Academy students are eagerly awaiting the upcoming Fireball championship. Then disaster strikes, in the form of a shape-shifting monster, who is stealing and eating some of the nine hearts with which each student is endowed. As in the first book, Roman packs each page with action and hilarity; check out this book trailer to get a sense of Roman's style.

I titled a previous post "Raina Reigns" because her first two books, Smile and Drama, are so popular in my library. Her newest book, Sisters, has already become a "best-seller" among our young patrons. It's easy to see why, since Telgemeier once again displays a natural command of the emotions experienced by kids and teens. As she explained to the crowd at Politics & Prose, Telgemeier hadn't planned on doing another graphic memoir, but the legions of Smile fans kept begging her to tell more about her life. "I decided that since people seemed particularly curious about my sister, I would write a story about our relationship." Telgemeier added her sister was the first reader for the book, and it wouldn't have been published without her approval.

As her "framing device" for telling the story, Telgemeier said she decided to use a roadtrip from California to Colorado that her family took when she was 14 and her sister Amara was nine. As Telgemeier tells of the trip's many ups and downs (a snake plays a pivotal part), she also uses flashbacks to show how much she wanted a sister and how disappointed she was in the sister she got. Woven into the story is the increasing tension between Telegemeier's parents, who eventually divorced. As in Smile, Telegemier displays a genius for deftly combining poignancy and hilarity  as she captures the ups and downs of being a kid. Telgemeier gives a further glimpse into her book and her writing/drawing process in this charming book trailer.

Telgemeier, who clearly delights in meeting her readers, remained unruffled at Saturday's program when a young fan asked during the Q&A time whether she and Roman -- her husband -- would ever have kids. "I like kids very much," she said adding that she enjoys spending time with her baby nephew. "But we'll have to see about kids -- maybe someday." Roman, meanwhile, pointed out that Telgemeier wouldn't have as much time to publish books like Smile and Sisters if they were to have kids. Smile took five years to write and draw, Telgemeier said, adding that she also was working full-time at another job at the time. Sisters took less time because Telgemeier now focuses full-time on making comics, but even so, it didn't happen overnight; Telgemeier said she wrote the "script" or story in a month, and then it took her another year and a half to do the artwork.

Other questioners wanted to know why the trio decided to become graphic novelists. Roman noted that, "for us, comics is what we do. Whenever we get an idea, it's a comic book idea." Gownley added that he was happily stunned when he first discovered comics at the age of nine, and quickly decided that's what he wanted to do with his life. For Telgemeier, reading Calvin and Hobbes for the first time "was like a lightning bolt from the sky that came and hit me over the head... and I said 'I want to do comics!'"

Final note: Happy Birthday to Politics & Prose which is celebrating 30 great years in the book-selling business today!