Maybe I’m still the cranky cool kid (disclaimer: I was never
cool), but I like discovering the Next Big Thing on my own. I’m just going to
have to let it go (oh, hi earworm) because when it comes to The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson I’ve been beaten to the punch. By everybody.
Twitter’s been all over it as part of the
#WeNeedDiverseBooks movement. Indie bookstores got into it when Eight Cousins Books in Falmouth, MA (one of my local faves) threw out their handsellchallenge. Then little known author John Green even mentioned it (I kid, he’s a
juggernaut of awesome).
Today is The Great Greene Heist’s book birthday. Instead of
feeling left out, I thought I’d bake a cake to celebrate, and share a slice of
delicious with you, my new best friends here at Project Mayhem.
There’s a ton of things to like about this book, and even
more to love. Fans of caper stories will slip right into the pages. Lovers of
scoundrels (think Robin Hood, Han Solo, and Danny Ocean) will find a new hero
for their pantheon – Jackson Greene.
Jackson is as cool as the other side of the pillow. Smart,
well dressed, good looking and the leader of his own rag-tag band of misfits.
Jackson cons his way through life always one step ahead of his nemesis and the
school authorities. Like the best rogues he walks the line between right and
wrong, and lands on the side of justice.
This book will make you smile at it’s charm, laugh at it’s
clever gambits, and cheer when it all comes together. The code names for the
cons, a staple of grifter stories, are worth the price of admission all by
themselves. Add dash of romance – just a dash it’s not a kissing book – and you
have a story that lingers well after the time you’ve closed the cover. I’m not
being glib. I finished this book several days ago, and my favorite scenes keep popping
up for a slow-motion replay of how’d-they-pull-that-off.
The Great Greene Heist is going to be as fun to reread as it
was to read. Is there a higher compliment?
Quick Questions with Varian Johnson
I emailed Varian a handful of questions on Memorial Day (because I'm a jerk), but he was kind enough to answer back right away (because he's not a jerk).
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Who came first, Danny
Ocean or Jackson Greene? Any other con artists role models we should know
about?
Of all the heist movies I’ve seen, Jackson Green was most
inspired by Danny Ocean from the Ocean’s Trilogy. I actually started the novel
right after seeing Ocean’s Thirteen, though all I had for a long time was a
name—Jackson Greene—and a vague idea of writing a heist novel. Of course, a
number of heist movies inspired me while writing the novel—most notably The
Italian Job, Sneakers, and The Thomas Crown Affair. I also researched real life
con men, though they aren’t nearly as suave and sophisticated as their
fictional counterparts.
Is there a sequel in
the works? (I'd love to read a YA with Jackson's brother, or an historical
fiction about his grandfather.)
Yes, I’m working on a sequel right now (which is taking
longer than I hoped. It takes place a few months after The Great Greene Heist,
and if all goes well, it’ll be out in the fall of 2015.
I hadn’t thought about doing anything with other member of
the Greene family, but you never know….
Did you start this at
VCFA? If so, can you talk about that a little bit? (advisors, early readers,
etc...)
I started the novel a month before my first VCFA residency.
I worked on it in bits and pieces with three advisors, though very little of
those drafts remain in the finished book. That being said, two people from VCFA
were very influential with the book. Tim Wynne-Jones, my fourth semester
advisor, helped me to realize that the tone and characters were all wrong in
those first drafts, and that I should take a step back and write the novel the
way it needed to be written (as a funny, fast read), not how I wanted it to be
(an edgy YA). Rachel M. Wilson, my classmate, shared an essay on Ellen Raskin’s
The Westing Game, which helped me realize that the novel needed to be written
in omniscient point of view.
What's it like to
become the center of a grassroots movement for diversity in children's books?
Humbling. Extremely humbling. I’m honored that so many
people have championed the book.
Any surprising
responses (good or bad) along the way?
As far as reviews go, there haven’t been any real surprises;
though I’ve also been fortunate to get some really good trade journal and blog
reviews about the novel. That being said, I try to numb myself to the review
process once they start rolling in. As a novelist, you do your best, and people
either say good or bad things about your book, and you take in what you can and
keep working on the next book.
What are you reading
now?
I just finished Jennifer Ziegler’s Revenge of the Flower Girls (Scholastic) and am currently reading Greg Leitich Smith’s Little GreenMen at the Mercury Inn (Roaring Brook). They’re both middle grade novels—we’ll
be doing a joint launch of all three of our books on June 14.
Any books we should
be on the lookout for?
Since I mentioned Rachel M. Wilson earlier, I should note
that her debut YA, Don’t Touch (HarperTeen) comes out this September. Another
VCFA classmate, Larissa Theule, makes her debut with Fat and Bones (Carolrhoda)
in October. They are both great books that I can’t wait to share with everyone.
Thanks, and happy
book birthday!
Thank you!
