San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
‘RED HOOD’ AUTHOR LOOKS AT THE WOLVES IN OUR MIDST
Elana K. Arnold’s new young adult book, “Red Hood,” is a contemporary retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Folklore is important to her because “I was raised on fairy tales, among other things,” said the award-winning author of YA novels and children’s books. “My grandmother’s library was filled with books of all kinds, all mashed together: fiction and nonfiction, poetry, philosophy, oversize pop culture photo books, psychology, and a whole row of Agatha Christie paperbacks and old books full of fairy tales — the kind of books with paper as thin as the Bible’s.
“So, fairy tales are part of the fabric of my cultural mythology. They’re the base language upon which I’ve layered my own lived experiences and the books I read later in life — the key that helps me unlock meaning in the things that happen to me, the things that are happening in the world around us.”
This modern-day interpretation unravels the life of Bisou Martel and her grandmother, Sybil. On the night of Bisou’s high school homecoming, the teenager has to run through the woods, where she is forced to face a dangerous wolf. After that encounter, Bisou discovers her own power, and with help from her grandmother and friends, finds answers to familial and community mysteries.
Arnold received the Printz Honor for her book “Damsel” and is a National Book Award finalist for “What Girls Are Made Of.” Her books have appeared on the Amelia Bloomer Project best list. She teaches writing for children and young adults at Hamline University in Minnesota and lives in Southern California
with her family and an assortment of pets. She, along with fellow YA author Anna-marie Mclemore, will be at Mysterious Galaxy’s new location at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Q:
How would you introduce Bisou Martel and her grandmother to your friends and family?
A:
Shaped by early childhood violence and trauma, Bisou has trained herself to keep her attention focused on that which is right in front of her rather than dwell on the past. Mostly solitary since mov
“Red Hood” by Elana K. Arnold; Harpercollins; 368 pages
Conversation with Elana K. Arnold and Anna-marie Mclemore
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday Where: Mysterious Galaxy, 3555 Rosecrans St., Suite 107, San Diego Tickets: This is a ticketed event.
For more information, go to the Mysterious Galaxy website. Phone: (619) 539-7137 Online: mystgalaxy.com
ing in with her grandmother, she’s now fallen in love with James, causing her to leave her protective shell in a variety of ways.
When the story begins, Bisou’s grandmother Sybil has been her steadfast caretaker. She’s an insightful student of human nature. A poet by training, Sybil sees meaning in details.
Q:
Bisou is told “Don’t forget to forget” and “not to forget.” Why does she get these counter missives from her mother and grandmother?
A:
Different people want different things from us. Bisou’s mother needs Bisou to forget the violence and trauma of “life before” because she herself wishes to forget and begin fresh. Bisou’s grandmother needs Bisou to remember. The why — I’ll leave for the reader to discover.
Q:
Please describe what a wolf is in your book and what turns a human male into a wolf. Why are females being blamed for men’s bad behavior?
A:
In our real world, Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and Brock Turner are wolves. I’ve known wolves. In “Red Hood,” there are wolves as well. The question of what turns a man into a wolf is, I think, the essential question, and it’s one I could write a book about … in fact, I did.
As for why females are blamed for men’s bad behavior — the short answer, I guess, is the dual-headed beast of patriarchy and misogyny. Patriarchy preaches that power belongs in men’s hands, and misogyny insists that women are responsible when men abuse that power.
Q:
Why do you think wolves are used as scary tropes throughout literature?
A:
The gray wolf is an apex predator — they are the top of the food chain. Everything they do affects both their prey and the environment as a whole. So, they make a great stand-in for that which scares us. If you’ve been in an abusive relationship, this will sound familiar. It is a person to whom every action must be bent; a person whose mood sets the emotional tone of the environment. “Red Hood” asks: What if the apex predator isn’t necessarily the most powerful, after all? What if prey animals have more power than they know? By playing with tropes, writers tap into the collective shared story — the myth, the fairy tale — then subvert it. Powerful stuff.
Q:
Why isn’t it your business who reads your books? Is there anything a writer shouldn’t write about, like uncomfortable truths?
A:
This is something I tell myself as I’m writing. “It’s none of my business who reads my books,” I chant as I dive into a particularly uncomfortable, challenging, potentially divisive scene. It’s the incantation that allows me to explore the territory I feel compelled toward. If I thought about my reader, I might lose my nerve.
I do consider my audience when I am working on stories for younger readers. Maybe this is because they are still children, whereas teens exist in a liminal space.
As for the question of whether there is anything that writers shouldn’t write about — my answer, for me, is no. My job in the young adult space is to explore that which fascinates and repels me. My job is to be uncomfortable. The reader can opt in, or out, as she sees fit.
Q:
Does “Red Hood” sync with your other books “Damsel” and “What Girls Are Made Of ”?
A:
I think these books are clearly linked. Put plainly, “What Girls Are Made Of ” is about experiencing embodied female shame; “Damsel” is about awakening to the knowledge of how patriarchy poisons all the waters; and “Red Hood” is about figuring out what to do next — with the rage that follows, with the power young women may discover in these times.
Q:
What’s your distinction between a young adult novel and an adult novel?
A:
To me, a young adult novel is one that centers around the teen’s experience without a looking-back perspective from adulthood. Stephen King’s “The Body” has a sense of nostalgia and distance that a young adult novel such as “Red Hood” doesn’t have. In “Red Hood,” there is a sense of immediacy that is linked to the age of the narrator.
My job as a writer of young adult fiction is to transform the teenage experience into art. For me, questions of ageappropriateness don’t apply to teen books the way they do in my books for younger readers. A book is a great place for a teen or adult reader to safely experience something uncomfortable, then decide for themselves to either keep going or put it down. If a teen reader tells me that they put down one of my books because it made them uncomfortable or made them feel unsafe, I count that as a win for the reader. They’ve identified and then opted out of an experience they are not ready for. They can come back later, if they like. They can peek in the book several times before plunging through to the end. This is a skill I wish I’d developed as a teen: selfpreservation, an understanding of how to leave when I wasn’t ready for an encounter.
Q:
What are you working on next? Do you want to write a sequel for “Red Hood”?
A:
I’m currently working on a few projects, including research for my next young adult novel and edits for my next middle grade novel, entitled “The House That Wasn’t There.” I also have a picture book coming out in March, entitled “An Ordinary Day.”
I don’t have plans to write a sequel for “Red Hood,” but I’ve had a great time working on a screenplay version of it. This is a story I’d love to see dramatized. So many wolves! So much blood.
Q:
Please talk about your teaching career at Hamline University and your pets at home.
A:
As a faculty member at Hamline’s Lowresidency Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults in St. Paul, Minn., I get to work among some of the most esteemed voices in children’s literature and with a cohort of emerging writers who are equally dedicated to the art and craft of writing. We come together for two 12-day residencies per year — one in January, the other in July — and then I work one on one with a few students for the length of a semester, focusing on developing their work. It’s incredibly rewarding and has provided me with a community of like-minded authors from whom I learn so much.
At home in Southern California, where I do most of my work, I’m surrounded by pets. We have seven at the moment, including Crumpet, a Sphynx cat, and Poppy, my lapdog. Animals figure into almost everything I do, from living to writing.
Q:
Anything you’d like to add?
A:
Readers can connect with me on Twitter and Instagram at @elanakarnold, or on my website, elanakarnold.com.
I’d like to remind readers that books that center around teenage girls are books for everybody — girls and boys and nonbinary people, teens and adults. We tend to think that books about teen girls are only for teen girls — for a variety of reasons, including patriarchy and misogyny. I challenge every reader to read one book a month — at least! — that centers on a female teenage experience.