“Life
imitates art.” We’ve all heard
that. And sometimes it happens. But sometimes life – which is typically
messier, less structured, and less satisfying than well-conceived art, actually
goes beyond art in reaching a meaningful resolution.
Mark
here, writing for Wendelin. Not because
she’s extra busy (which she is – Colton graduates from college this weekend and
we’re planning a celebration) but because sometimes things are better related
by a third party observer than by someone in the thick of it… maybe think of Nick
& Jay in Gatsby.
We
just saw The Fault in Our Stars. This isn’t a film review, but in brief: we
liked it and thought the film did a great job of faithfully bringing the book
to the screen. However, for me the most
interesting part of the plot was a subplot about, well… a book plot. Speaking generically—so as not to get too spoilerish for the three among you
who haven’t yet read the book—the protagonist has a favorite book which she
absolutely loves, but the ending is open-ended and she really wants to know ‘what happens after the end of the book’. The non-answer she finally gets might be
satisfactory for a disinterested middle-aged intellectual, but it doesn’t
really work for an emotionally-invested teenager. (Which is part of the point, I suppose.)
Now
flash-forward (or back, or sideways, depending on where you’re standing in
time) to a small bookstore far, far away (the Midwest) at a time long, long ago
(six weeks as I write this). We’re doing
an in-store event as part of our tour.
Among the people in attendance are a teenage boy and his mother. The boy has a physical challenge which—among
other things—renders his speech a bit slower than some of us (perhaps cerebral
palsy?) but he is clearly an avid reader and really bright. And it’s also clear—from his interactions
with his mother as well as from what follows—that he’s an incredibly sweet
young man.
After
the ‘presentation’ part of our presentation, we typically take questions. This boy has a few questions, and his final
one is basically “What happens after the end of Flipped?” But you could tell from his demeanor that this was the reason he and his mom drove
three hours to see us. The other
questions were just a warm-up, but this was something hugely significant to
him.
Wendelin
has been asked related questions about Flipped exactly one zillion times. (Usually some version of, “Are you going to
write a sequel?”) And all she typically says
is that she’s not going to write a sequel—she really likes the open-yet-hopeful
way the story ends because it makes the reader think, rather than wrapping
everything up with a nice bow. And she usually
leaves it at that. But this boy already
knew the above… his query was centered around the deeper issue of, “What do you—as the creator of these
characters—think might happen with Julie and Bryce beyond the last page of the
book?” And Wendelin—in a
life-exceeds-art move—made a one-time exception for this emotionally-invested
teen regarding ‘never discussing Flipped beyond-the-ending-as-written’, and
gave him her heartfelt opinion as to what might become of Julie and Bryce.
When
she finished, the boy let out a huge sigh—he had literally been holding his breath—and just
enthusiastically nodded his thanks through his tears, over and over. It was one of those moments—in a trip filled
with thousands of moments—that I will never, ever forget.
