I’ve always loved the coming-of-age genre. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexi; She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb; A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel - these are among my most favorite all-time books. I love reading first person narrative, especially in a young teen because watching the world unfold through their eyes is, to me, the most compelling. Tweens and teens still have the space before adulthood to stop and glance around – at both the ridiculous and the beautiful. This space can be scary; they know they will eventually have to throw on that backpack of responsibility and hike up to adult. But it can also be hilarious. Adults have problems, yes, but plenty of them are “man-made” rather than nature-born and who better to point that out than a hormonal teenager?

My character, Apron, started out as an eight year-old. Her misnomers and misunderstandings were (I thought) entertaining. But the feedback I got was that she was too mature for her years. I fought it for a bit, but then conceded. And once I aged her up to thirteen, things clicked. Apron’s story has some decidedly adult topics (homophobia, AIDS, adultery) but because she is thirteen, her smelly neighbor, a guy that looks way too much like Jesus, and saving her beloved guinea pig, rank just as high in the problem category.

The truth is, none of us really know what we’re doing on this great big planet, but most of the time adults have to pretend they do. Teenagers (on down) don’t. Yet. I think this is why I so love the coming-of-age genre; it puts me back into that space just before the backpack goes on.

And that’s a pretty great space, isn’t it?