Spotlight on Sharon M. Draper

Sharon M. Draper is a three-time New York Times bestselling author and a recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring her significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens. She has received the Coretta Scott King Award for both Copper Sun and Forged by Fire and was awarded the Charlotte Huck Award for Stella by Starlight. Her novel Out of My Mind has won multiple awards and was a New York Times bestseller for over three years, and Blended has also been a New York Times bestseller. She taught high school English for twenty-five years and was named National Teacher of the Year.

Q: Your new middle grade novel, Blended, introduces us to eleven-year-old Isabella, or Izzy, whose life with divorced parents gives her a complicated set of challenges but a humorous voice. Why do Izzy’s parents’ choices reflect so heavily on her daily life? Did you feel Izzy trying to reclaim a stake in her own life?

I recently asked a room full of teachers and parents to raise their hands if the areas of divorce or marital discord had NOT affected their lives in some way. Not one person raised a hand. Not one. Then I asked them to think about the children in their lives and how much more they would be touched by decisions that were completely out of their control. We ask children to adjust to issues that even adults often don’t handle very well, and in addition we expect them to behave in school and get good grades and deal with the situation without question. It’s hard. But amazingly, most of them manage. In Blended, Isabella gives voice to those children, showing how hard it is to balance the whims of adults with her own needs. She just wants to be loved and to know that her parents still love her, even though they no longer love each other. So Izzy gives a powerful adolescent voice to those kids, and says out loud what many of them are unable to say.

Q: In the beginning of the story, what did you see in Izzy that she might not yet have seen in herself? What advice do you have for kids who are struggling to belong, struggling to be seen?

Izzy, which is what her mom calls her, (her dad insists on calling her Isabella), is divided even in her name. Her parents can’t even agree on what to call their daughter, who they both dearly love. At first Izzy simply reacts to the discord of her parents, making clear her opinions in an honest pre-adolescent voice. But gradually she learns that her needs and her decisions make a difference. She’s really good at playing the piano, and the music often becomes her voice as she expresses her anger or fear or frustration. Young people who are struggling to be heard, no matter what the challenge, can perhaps use Isabella as an inspiration to find their own voices. I feel very strongly that artistic expression, whether it be through music or writing or drawing or using whatever creative impulses they find within themselves, can be perhaps not a full solution to their problems, but at least an outlet for easing the pressure of whatever struggle they may face.

Q: What was your favorite part of elementary or middle school? Did you have any teachers who inspired or challenged you?

My fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Mann, was the one who challenged me and encouraged me to express myself creatively—and to do it with perfect penmanship! She opened our world to poetry and drama. It was Mrs. Mann who taught me the names of every single constellation and the names and shapes of every type of cloud. We learned about the pyramids of Egypt and the fall of the Roman Empire. We read tons and tons of poetry and were encouraged to create our own. Her room was full of art and music and creativity. She offered us a world of knowledge and I swallowed it all with delight. I did not know at the time the gifts she was giving me. I just know I loved her and I learned the joy of learning. I absorbed it all and I will forever be grateful for her.

Q: Isabella has a great relationship with her dad’s girlfriend’s son, Darren, who looks out for her like an older brother. With her dad’s girlfriend and her mom’s boyfriend, it’s almost as if she has two sets of parents. What do you think your novel says about the idea of family?

Every family is different. And no two families are alike. Teachers are very aware that the children who walk into their classrooms might have very different family situations than their own. Successful teachers use that as a strength to build classroom community and foster friendships. Children like Isabella, who live in emotionally charged home situations, need extra nurturing and understanding. And yes, Izzy does have two families and two different living situations. But she copes. She survives. She thrives—even if it drives her batty sometimes. I am constantly amazed at the flexibility and tenaciousness of those “multiple-backpack” children who balance their lives between sometimes difficult combinations of parents and living conditions. I hope that children who read the book can see themselves and find the strength within themselves to grow and develop as individuals, not simply as children of divorce or non traditional family situations.

Q: Isabella witnesses an incident of racially-charged bullying and how that can change the dynamics of a community. How did you create such a scene?

The incident at the end of the story is, sadly, based on a real-life occurrence. One sunny afternoon, my six-months pregnant daughter and my eight-year-old grandson went to the ice cream store after school as a reward for a great report card. They noticed a man running in the grass nearby toward a car, but thought nothing of it. They pulled out of the parking lot, headed toward home, and were surprised by the large number of siren-screaming police cars behind them. She pulled over, turned into a parking lot, and what seemed like dozens of police cars pulled in after her. They stormed her car and demanded she get out. Terrified, she did what she was told, was slammed against her car, (and yes, it was clear that she was very pregnant) and questioned for over half an hour about robbing the bank next to the ice cream store. The eight-year-old was pulled from the car and had to watch them do this to his mother. Eventually they figured out that her car only looked like the getaway car and they let them go. But both of them were forever changed by the incident. No apologies were ever given.

Q: Explain the significance of music in Isabella’s life.

Isabella plays the piano. Music is her constant companion, her release from the stresses of her life. At her Dad’s house, she practices on a huge, polished baby grand piano in what’s called the Music Room. At her mother’s house, she practices on a well-loved portable Casio keyboard on the kitchen table. Both instruments carry her passion and sorrow and confusion as she tries to figure out the complexities of her life. Her music gives her happiness and satisfaction and most of all, joy. It takes her away from the discord in her life over which she has no control. It is because of a music recital, which, by the way, all four of the adults in her life plan to attend, that the critical climax of the novel occurs. And it is music that gives her peace at the end.