Blog

From the mailbag:

Kelley writes: Dear Laurie Halse Anderson or Whoever-Reads-This,
Just this spring (2006) I saw the movie Speak aired on Lifetime. It was an amazing movie. It insprired me to find the book and read it. On my way to a small vacation, I read and finished the book within a couple hours. I couldn’t stop reading it. I had a question, though, because I didn’t understand something. In the book, at the end when Melinda tells her teacher about what happened, it is different in the movie. In the movie Melinda tells her mom. I was just wondering why you decided to use the ending of Melinda telling her mom in the movie, but in the book she tells her teacher. I know that it may seem like a stupid question, but it has been nagging me for a long time. So, if you have the time, could you please answer this question? Thank you for your time.

Good catch, Kelley. You’re right – that is the major difference between the film and the book. It was one that I had no power over. When an author signs the contract that gives permission to make her book into a movie, she gives up all control over the story itself. The director has to make the choices (and changes) that will make a good film. (This is why watching a movie made out of your favorite book can be a disappointment.)

There is one aspect of this change that makes sense to me, though. The book is a strong first person point-of-view story. We see the world and the characters through Melinda’s eyes. That is part of why her parents come off as such jerks; she is a depressed 14-year-old who doesn’t have the maturity to understand the struggles her parents are going through.

The movie is told from the third person point-of-view. (Most movies are.) In the film, you get a clearer sense of the problems that the Mom and Dad are struggling with, and also that they are trying (awkwardly) to reach out to their daughter. I think this makes the movie ending work.

I’m off to Ithaca today for an adventure in a special library and to give a speech at Cornell. (Scroll down for my listing.)

I wish I could go to Comic-Con. Are any of you going?

I am waiting for a large, graphics-heavy file to load, so I will try and use the time effectively and tell you why we are Ren Faire geeks.

Because it is fun.

BH and I went to one of the earliest Sterling Renaissance Festival a million years ago when we were teenagers. Sterling is medium-sized, smaller than Maryland or Pennsylvania, but that means you don’t have to battle hundreds of people to get to the front of the turkey leg line. The location is about 10 miles west of Oswego, which makes it about a half hour from our house. The prices are reasonable, the people are kind, and it is my favorite way to spend a summer day,

Wait, you don’t know what a Ren Faire is? Research and read.

What do I love the most? The atmosphere.

Imagine a forest with a high canopy. The ground is covered with mulch, the shade is cool. No poison ivy. Turn a corner and see barrels planted with flowers. Look down the lane and see people walking hand in hand, little kids running ahead, giggling. You can smell the woods and the food cooking. You can hear music; a harp, a mandolin. In the distance, you hear bagpipes, and then the roar of the crowd as swords clash and horses gallop. Everyone is relaxed. There are no arcade games, but you can try your luck at throwing axes or hitting a target with a bow and arrow. (You can also ride a camel or an elephant.)

As you wander through the forest, past the games, past the artisans with their crafts displayed, past tempting food, you can’t help but relax. At least I can’t. BH and I are among the 10-15% of attenders who dress up in period appropriate garb. It is our one true vice. (We were married in our Ren Faire clothes.) Our favorite shop is the Needle Fairy, though I just got an outfit at Wolfstone Kilt Company. I have a long blue skirt that I wear with a white chemise and red brocade bodice. He has a linen shirt, fancy pants (don’t know the proper name of them) and a jacket (again, I can’t remember the right name for it. He looks hot in it, that’s all I care about.) The clothes are very comfortable. We would love to buy period-appropriate footwear, but that is too expensive right now. We will be going back to the Festival on the 30th – I’ll try and get pictures of us dressed up.

If you are looking for adrenaline rushes, screaming children, blaring music, obnoxious people, then do not go to a Ren faire. If you want to relax, dial life back to a simpler time (if only for a couple of hours), then it is the place for you.

(edited to add) Have you ever been to a Ren Faire/Festival? Did you like it, or were you a scornful, world-weary cynic who mocked everyone? Any recommendations about other Faires/ Festivals to visit?

Huzzah!!!

While I melt into a puddle of ink and coffee, enjoy these photos from Number One Son.

Pretty

Support my cousin Linda as she walks the Tampa Bay 3-Day to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

We have a number of breast cancer survivors in our family: Linda’s sister Susan, my mother, and my Aunt Janet, who passed away (from other causes) in January. I am really proud of all of them, and so happy that Linda is doing something to make sure all of the other women in the family have better chance at beating this disease.

Go Linda!!

Hats off to Joel Dossi of the Syracuse New Times for writing the best article anyone ever has about my work.

I am touched and blown away.

(Renaissance Festival story later, I promise.)