MMBC: April & Oliver Discussion Recap
>> January 21, 2010
The Manic Mommies Book Club is a year old this month!
Congratulations to everyone who read with us in 2009 and we welcome all of those who will be reading with us in 2010.
Here are some questions for you, the reader:
1)What was your overall view of the book? Did you enjoy it?
2)Both April and Oliver grew up without their mothers.
3)How was this important to the story?
4)Did you have a favorite part in the book?
5)How did your opinion of Bernadette change throughout the book?
6)Both April and Oliver grew up without their mothers.
7)How was this important to the story?
8)Lastly, do you have any questions for the author? If yes, leave them here and I will send them to the author.
We do have a few blogger's reading along with us. If you have blogged about the book, please leave the link to your post!
Please comment on the MMBC blog (to avoid having comments in too many places)
The following is a recap in my own words:
Tess has thirteen year old twins and is busy juggling family, writing and is also a teacher. April and Oliver is her first novel which was published in 2009. She is working on a second novel.
Tess start writing April and Oliver several years ago, it started as a short story. She put it to the side for a time and completed in a few years later.
April and Oliver are both motherless in the book, we wanted to know if mothers were included in any draft: The mother’s were not in any draft of the novel. Oliver makes a life change when his mother dies during his senior year of high school. He decides not to follow his mothers wishes and gives up music, making the decision to study something practical (law). In an early draft of the book April’s mom could have had a physical presence in the novel but with April being responsible for raising her younger brother Tess realized that April was really alone in life.
Was Buddy alive in any draft? He was never alive in the book but is such an important character to the storyline. He is alive in a way, by memories.
Is April based on anyone you know? She wears a thick personal to cover her vulnerabilities and has a resemblance of a passing friend but is really a fictional character.
Did you start this book knowing the general plot or did you begin with by creating characters and follow their journey? Tess mentioned that she starts with characters, weaving their history into a story. She doesn’t know what will happen until the words are written. She expressed being as surprised as we were at times during the book!
Use of water is throughout the novel, do you have an affinity with water (which is also the books cover). Tess found this question very interesting, she likes to view water as our subconscious (its unspoken, echoes the forces) and expressed being pleased with the cover.
Bernadette (Oliver’s fiancé): We wanted her to hold her ground and stand up for herself. Did Bernadette change from the beginning to the end of the writing process? She did transform quite a bit from the first draft to the final version. Bernadette thinks with logic and doesn’t view April as a threat. Over time she sees that Oliver is spending too much energy/time with April. We did wonder if they would get married and were a little shocked by the events on their wedding day.
Other highlights:
- We also discussed Nana and her resemblance to Tess’s grandmother. Tess’s grandmother also had a necklace that she wore daily.
- The story of the kiss in the diner is loosely based on a true events.
- Tess has completed the first draft of her next novel
- Tess teaches writing to middle school students and loves helping children discover the passion of writing
- She tries to write during the day, when her children are at school
I have saved a few items for you to learn about when the audio file is available. Erin and I were emailing today and will find a way to share the audio file with everyone (it might take a week or so)
Posts
Post a Comment