Speaking Volumes

      

Last night we were lucky to have Leslie Connor, author of Crunch, drop in on our Book Club meeting. This was her second time here (she came when we read Waiting for Normal) and she was just lovely – super nice and very interesting.
 
Here’s a little background on Crunch, the book we read for this month’s meeting. The blurb is straight from the book jacket:

Dewey Marriss is stuck in the middle of a crunch. He never guessed that the gas pumps would run dry the same week he promised to manage the family's bicycle-repair business. Suddenly everyone needs a bike. And nobody wants to wait. Meanwhile, the crunch has stranded Dewey's parents far up north with an empty fuel tank and no way home. It's up to Dewey and his older sister, Lil, to look after their younger siblings and run the bike shop all on their own.

Each day Dewey and his siblings feel their parents' absence more and more. The Marriss Bike Barn is busier than ever. And just when he is starting to feel crunched himself, Dewey discovers that bike parts are missing from the shop. He's sure he knows who's responsible—or does he? Will exposing the thief only make more trouble for Dewey and his siblings?

The book was a hit with our group. Everyone liked it, and the book club members had lots of questions for Leslie about Crunch, and about becoming a published writer. She told us that living through the gas crisis in the 70’s and the current rising gas prices were partly the inspiration for the story of the Marriss family and how they come together during the crunch. She also talked with the kids about what she is working on now (a memoir from the point of view of her newly adopted dog and a teenage girl), and about her writing process. She encouraged the kids to keep journals to write, doodle, and paint in. She even suggested a writing exercise that a friend of hers uses, called ‘a slice of life,’ to our aspiring authors in the group. ‘Slice of life’ writing just means taking the time to write about one moment of your day in detail, in your journal. Leslie also talked about authors and new technology (like ebooks) and maintaining her own website, which you can see here.
 
Anyways, I encourage you to stop by the Saxton B. to check out our newly autographed copy of Crunch, or any of the other wonderful books we own by Leslie!