So my friend

Chatterbox: Inkwell

So my friend

So my friend is writing a novel (I asked for titles for it not too long ago), and he just wrote a synopsis. We like it, but are wondering what other people think:

~~~ 

Savannah Downey both loves and hates being an identical twin, but pretty much just hates being paralyzed from the shoulders down. 

Delaney Downey one hundred percent loves being an identical twin – she has a best friend exactly like her with whom she has shared and done everything in her almost fifteen years of life – so it hurts her beyond anything to see said twin lying immobile in a hospital bed.

When two boys and their single mother moved into the Downeys' guest apartment, the four Downey sisters were convinced that it would be an amazing summer. The amazingness, however, only lasted about a week before Savannah's dive into a shallower-than-expected lake. She broke her neck and permanently injured her spinal cord. 

Delaney really has no idea what's going on anymore. All she knows for sure is that her twin is badly hurt, and doesn't even want her around – this has something to do with Savannah's strange statement right before the dive, accusing Delaney of being bossy and controlling. Is there anything Delaney can do to fix this, or has she permanently lost her best friend? 

~~~

So... if you saw this on a book in the library would you read it? Do you find the time jump in the third paragraph confusing? We'd love to hear your feedback and any ideas you have for changes!

Thanks in advance. 

submitted by Shoshannah
(May 18, 2017 - 12:47 pm)

back to the Inkwell

Put that book in a library RIGHT NOW. Yes, I really want to read it!

Tell your friend to publish it right now! 

submitted by Pepper Star
(May 18, 2017 - 6:17 pm)

Brother-I-mean-friend says: "You're welcome. Also, Iron Man is cooler than Captain America." *insert Marvel rant here*

Thanks! 

submitted by Shoshannah
(May 18, 2017 - 7:29 pm)

Yes! I would so read this! Please ask him to keep writing soon!

submitted by Crookshanks, age 2nd year, Hogsmeade
(May 19, 2017 - 11:10 am)

This book sounds so good and I would totally read it in an instant.

submitted by Epic Fangirl
(May 19, 2017 - 11:43 am)

This is a really interesting plot and the synopsis is great! I'd absolutely pick it up off the shelf based on concept alone. There's so little disability representation in fiction, and especially in kids' books! I could see this being a very important and positive book if the execution is as good as the concept.

I'm pretty interested in these topics and have actually dabbled with them in my own writing, although I've never dealt with a topic like this as my main plot. If you don't mind me asking a few questions about the concept, I'm curious. Smile Has your friend decided on Savannah's injury level (C4, C5, C6, etc)? Would make the difference between limited arm movement and no arm movement. I don't think I've ever read a kids' book with a quadriplegic co-protagonist (the closest would probably be Rebecca Marder's "Head Case", which was a much darker story with a 17-year-old protag who was injured in a drunk driving accident), so I'm curious about how Savannah's injury will be portrayed in regard to power wheelchairs, assistive technology, physical therapy, etc. Would the story continue to portray her new life after returning home, as well, or does the book take place mainly during her hospital stay?

Thanks for indulging my curiosity, and I wish your friend the best of luck with his book! If you talk to him, please thank him for writing what could be a really important book for kids dealing with disability either in their own life or that of someone close to them. 

submitted by Ray S.
(May 20, 2017 - 7:35 pm)
submitted by Sounds great!!!!, Cecilia S.
(May 21, 2017 - 9:36 am)