Peter Rock’s My Abandonment was one of the winners of the 2010 Alex Award. The novel tells the story of Caroline and her father who live more than off the grid in Portland Oregon’s Forest Park.
Congratulations on receiving the Alex Award for My Abandonment. This award recognizes books published for adults which are appealing to teens. Did you consider a teen audience while you were writing it?
I’m delighted if a teen audience is drawn to the book and can sympathize with its narrator, Caroline.’ That said, I wrote the book because I was very curious about where it would go; I don’t really think about “audience,†I just try to get inside and follow.’ The kind of storytelling that appeals to me, I think—full of adventure and mystery, not so worried about demonstrating how “smart†the author is—is a kind that would hopefully include teen readers.’ I believe that younger readers are more willing to engage, to go deep inside a book, and that fascinates me; I remember the wonder I felt, reading when I was younger.’ Sometimes now I can get back to it.’ That’s why I read, and why I write.
Several of your novels feature teen characters; what do you think draws you to characters in this age group?
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