readergirlz is a literacy and social media project for teens, awarded the National Book Foundation's Innovations in Reading Prize. The rgz blog serves as a depot for news and YA reviews from industry professionals and teens. As volunteers return full force to their own YA writing, the organization continues to hold one initiative a year to impact teen literacy. All are welcome to "like" us on Facebook!
We featured Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes in our February 2008 issue. The book, which won the Coretta Scott King Award, shared the poetry and voices of eighteen different students.
Since her spotlight at readergirlz, Nikki has released a multitude of books, including:
A picture book biography: Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope More novels-in-verse: A Girl Named Mister, Planet Middle School, Words With Wings A quartet of chapter books: Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel, Rich, Almost Zero, Halfway to Perfect Forays into visual art: 6 exhibits, several sales, one 2nd Place Ribbon
A limited edition title: Journey: Poems for the Pulpit ...and she tells us there's more on the way! Congrats, Nikki!
So happy to recommend our rgz Circle of Stars, Nikki Grimes' new release, Words with Wings. The verse novel poetically explores protagonist Gabby's propensity to daydream. Amidst the turmoil of her parent's separation and a move, escape through thoughts is easy. Gabby preserves her memories and protects herself in her new situation by slipping away in her mind.
Stuck in Dreamland
Maybe something is wrong with me,
all this fancy dancing
in my mind.
Where I see red and purple
and bursts of blue,
everybody else sees
black and white.
Am I wrong?
Are they right?
Too bad
I can't ask Dad.
When the daydreams interfere with life, Gabby learns to find power in her ability. The step from daydreaming to writing is made with the aid of a perceptive teacher and a new friend.
With succinct, vivid words, Nikki brings to light the thoughts and aims of two opposite characters, mother and daughter. The reader gains sympathy and understanding for both points of view.
Find Words with Wings and take the challenge to find the strength in what some see as your weakness.
I have so much admiration for Nikki Grimes, poet and author, for our final Story Secrets guest. (In fact, one of the characters in Tell Me a Secret was a little bit inspired by my experience of her when I went to a writing conference several years ago - can you guess which one?).
So I am very pleased to chat with her today to find out some of the secrets behind A GIRL NAMED MISTER, her latest verse novel. And her publisher is generously giving away two copies! You can win one by posting a comment here and on my blog.
Welcome, Nikki!
*****
A GIRL NAMED MISTER is a book about a girl wrestling with her faith, her sexuality, and the point at which both intersect. It is also a story about choices and the consequences they may lead to.
Mister was not an entirely planned book, nor was it entirely organic. I’ll explain. I’d considered, at some point, tackling the subject of teen pregnancy. However, I had no specific idea of when or how I might approach it. Then, one summer, while at a conference, Ann Martin (A Corner of the Universe) and I started tossing around the idea of collaborating on a book. It was an intriguing notion for me, not being in the habit of working with another author in that way. Later, in my hotel room, I jotted down some possible ideas that I thought might work for both of us. I love doing multiple voices, and especially like creating parallel stories that wed the biblical with the contemporary. The next morning, I suggested that we create a book called Mary, Mary, written from the P.O.V. of Mary, mother of Jesus, and a contemporary teen named Mary. I thought Ann might take on the contemporary teen, while I tackled the biblical character. Ann found the idea interesting, but ultimately felt it wasn’t right for her, so I set it aside, and worked up a second possible theme.
As it happens, I never quite got around to developing that second idea, because I was unable to shake the first one. Mister introduced herself to me and, once she started talking, she would simply not shut up. I eventually committed to telling her story because she wouldn’t let me go until I did!
The final shape of the book was a surprise to me. I originally structured it as a straight parallel story, similar to the format I used in Dark Sons. However, the early drafts of MISTER were not working in that format, so I was forced to rethink how best to balance Mary’s story with Mister’s. Donna Bray, my editor at that time, suggested that I find a way to fold Mary’s story into Mister’s, and the solution I came up with was to have Mary’s story be a book which Mister read during the course of her own journey.
This was an extremely challenging book to write. I constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed the manuscript more times than I can count. To make matters worse, I underwent two changes of editor, and one change of publisher from the time I began this work until the time it was finally published. I would finish the manuscript for one editor, only to have the next one come in and require additional changes, rewrites, etc., then have a third come in and do likewise. I honestly began to wonder if this story would ever see the light of day.
I had useful critique from Montage, my arts group with whom I share all of my works-in-progress. I also benefited from the help of a wonderful reader, Amy Malskeit, throughout. She gave me thoughtful feedback on each major draft, as did my agent, Elizabeth Harding. My work with Amy was very symbiotic because, as she was helping me with my book, I was helping her with her own. She also kept me encouraged on those days when I was close to tossing every single draft of the manuscript into the trash bin! I also got a major boost from a young reader who was, at the time, the same age as Mister. She felt the story empowered her to make good choices for her own life! The book took roughly two and half years from start to finish.
I brought quite a bit of personal experience to bear on this project. I had a child when I was young, though not as young as Mister. (I was nineteen.) I struggled with some of the same questions she and Mary had to wrestle with. I certainly remember the awkwardness and discomfort of being pregnant, the fear of the delivery room, and all that went with it. I remember the emotional isolation of being cut off from the baby’s father—the fear of that, of being all alone with the crushing responsibility of having a child. It was not a stretch for me to climb into the skins of Mister and Mary to explore their emotional journey. As for the spiritual component of the story, I interviewed a few young women raised in the church who experienced teen pregnancy, then struggled with the same guilt, doubts, and questions Mister faced regarding her faith, and her place in God’s heart after breaking his law.
I hope readers will come away from the book understanding what a huge decision it is become sexually active; how life altering it is to have a baby; how important it is to think through your choices. I hope the reader will begin to calculate the potential cost of giving in to pressure to have sex before you are ready, before you are prepared—not just physically, but emotionally.
Next up is a middle grade novel from Bloomsbury called Planet Middle School. After MISTER, I was ready for something a little lighter, something with humor at its base. Planet Middle School comes out next fall.
*****
Thank you, Nikki! Readers, take a look at this moving trailer:
THE GIVEAWAY: TWO COPIES OF A GIRL NAMED MISTER
You have until midnight on Monday to leave a meaningful comment about the book, Nikki's interview, or your own personal struggles with difficult circumstances or faith. I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
A Girl Named Mister, by Nikki Grimes, came out last fall. Kirkus Reviews says, "This novel in poetry looks clearly at both teen pregnancy and struggles with faith. Mister is exceptionally well characterized...The language is intimate and immediate."
Diva Lorie Ann wrote about it recently on this blog (Nikki is a member of the readergirlz Circle of Stars) and the cover is one that I've stared at a bit in the bookstore, so I had to ask Nikki about the back story. Here she is:
"OMG, I am so in love with the current cover, I'd completely forgotten what it took to arrive at it! I had no musings on a cover when I wrote the text. I never do. But when it comes to covers, I definitely know what I do or don't like when I see it.
"I remember the original cover proposed to me (right), and I shudder. It featured a young girl who was too mature, and worldly-wise for Mister, and a very stilted image of Mary, which did not align with the fresh-faced young teenager I had in mind. In fact, I wrote Mary as though she and Mister were the same age, while the Mary they had first chosen appeared considerably older. I expressed my concerns to my editor, and the designer went back to work on a new comp. Boy, am I glad!
I'm so excited to share the latest release from our own Circle of Stars, Nikki Grimes! She was last featured at readergirlz for her classic Bronx Masquerade.
Today we celebrate, A Girl Named Mister, a beautiful verse novel with a strong female protagonist. Here is the story of a fifteen year old girl, raised in the church, making choices she never expected. Within the main character Mary Rudine's journey is a book she reads which depicts the experiences of Mary from the New Testament. A Girl Named Mister shares the story of two teens facing unexpected pregnancies. The ancient story is a light of hope to the protagonist of today.
The weaving of the tales is handled deftly. One flows and mirrors the other like sun dappled rivers converging. None will be disappointed in Nikki's poetic language that lyrically depicts heartache, fear, and joy so vividly.
"Even through
my rayon-cotton blend
his touch
burned the world away."
Find A Girl Named Mister. Read these young women's thoughts, be moved, and then share this novel with another readergirl!
Hello, readergirlz! Here's a repost from my blog. Please feel free to repost!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meet one of my writer-mentors, Nikki Grimes, a NY Times bestselling author and Coretta Scott King award winner. She is brilliant and fierce and 100% heart.
She called me last night to check in on me, shored me up with some solid advice, and then told me her chilling story. Just nine days after speaking at a school in Arkansas, the entire town was leveled by a hurricane. "Cherish every day," she told me. "Every day."
Nikki is a woman after my own heart. She is singlehandedly spearheading her own Operation Teen Book Drop by trying to replenish that school's devastated collection of young adult titles. So if you didn't rock the readergirlz drop and still have YA books lying around that are in need of a good home, consider sending a few of them here:
Jimma Holder Literacy Specialist Mena Public Schools 501 Hickory Mena, AR 71953
Today, I am grateful to be surrounded by friends who are changemakers. Who are forces of nature. Who live by their words and actions.
We featured Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes in our February 2008 issue. The book, which won the Coretta Scott King Award, shared the poetry and voices of eighteen different students. 
