The Big Burn (25 page)

Q:
Your son, Kurt, works on a Forest Service fire crew. Did his job spark your interest in the Big Burn of 1910?

JI:
A bike ride through the Idaho mountain wilderness where the 1910 fires raged was what first caught my interest, but I also wrote to understand my son's work and the conditions facing the men and women who fight wildfire today.

Q:
How long did it take you to research the field notes for
The Big Burn?
JI:
Writing
The Big Burn
took about a year, and I started research for the field notes well before I started the writing. Then I continued researching as the characters and plot began dictating what more I needed to know.

Q:
Did the characters of Jarrett, Lizbeth, and Seth take shape before or after you did the research?

JI:
They first took shape during the research, as I looked for representative characters to tell the stories of the homesteaders, firefighters, and soldiers caught up in the Big Bum. Once I started writing, they came to life as individuals I knew and cared about.

Q: The Big Burn
demonstrates that one event can influence countless people. How do you hope your novels will influence readers?

JI:
I write about young people learning to see the world from new perspectives, developing the confidence to think for themselves and the courage to act on their beliefs. And those are the things that I want for my readers, too.

Mountain Solo

A love of music links two young people.

Sixteen-year-old Tess's life has been shaped by her violin.

From the moment she picked up the instrument, it's been clear she isn't like other kids. She is a prodigy, and her life is that of a virtuoso-to-be: constant training, special schools, and a big debut before an audience of thousands. When she blows her moment in the spotlight, she throws it all away and moves from the big city to small town Montana, where she joins her father and tries to lead a normal life—whatever that is.

But Tess has hardly arrived before she is drawn into a mystery: a hunt for the wilderness homestead of a lost pioneer who played violin himself—or fiddle, as he called it. Maybe, through his story, Tess will find the strength to pick up her violin again.

The Window
A room with a view ... to the past.

Mandy survived the terrible accident that killed her mother, only to be left blind and alone. Now she lives with relatives she never heard of, attends a new school, and tries to make friends—all the while struggling to function without sight.

Her unpredictable life takes its strangest turn when she realizes that, although she can't see, she hears more than other people do. But what Mandy hears through the dark window of her attic room isn't normal. In fact, what she hears—and seems to "see"—are things that happened years ago, before she was even born....

A
N
ALA B
EST
B
OOK FOR
Y
OUNG
A
DULTS
A
N
IRA Y
OUNG
A
DULTS
' C
HOICE

"A sensitive and well-told story,
inhabited by appealing and believable characters."
—Kirkus Reviews

"[Teens] will enjoy this well-written, realistic story."
—VOYA

"A strong and satisfying work."
—Booklist

Gaining focus

Asia McKinna may live in rural Texas, but she's not out of the reach of World War I. The strain of the raging war infects her town, her family, and her own life. She's doing her part for the war effort, but she feels overwhelmed. Each day her beloved grandmother grows more frail. Each day her friend Nick's departure—either to college or to war—nears. And the entire town is on edge from a rash of mysterious fires. Only through her growing passion for photography can Asia hope to gain perspective on the times—and on her place in the world.

A T
EXAS
L
ONE
S
TAR
R
EADING
L
IST
B
OOK

* "An innovative novel [with] believable characters
and complex, evolving relationships."
—Kirius Reviews
(starred review)

"Riveting."
—The Bulletin

"Endearing."
—VOYA

An aerobatic adventure

In the early days of aviation, Beatty and Moss hang out around the airport Beatty's uncle manages. Beatty is hoping to see her father when he flies in—and quickly out again—on a mail flight And Moss is hoping his mechanical skills will help him to support himself. Neither anticipates their crucial roles in the airfield's survival—or in saving Beatty's father's life.

A N
EW
Y
ORK
P
UBLIC
L
IBRARY
B
OOK
FOR THE
T
EEN
A
GE

"Engrossing."
—The New York Times Book Review

"Beatty ... is a heroine of vim and vigor."
—The Bulletin

"Excellent."
—School Library Journal