Age Five: The book that stands out most clearly from around that age is And I Mean It, Stanley by Crosby Bonsall. I loved the pictures, and I loved the attitude, and, even though I read it a thousand times, I always loved getting to the end and finding out the "surprise" ending--that Stanley was a dog.
Age Ten: This was when we were getting into my real hatred of reading. This was about the fifth grade, and we were required to read books like Tuck Everlasting and Summer of the Swans and Jacob I Have Loved and I hated (and still hate) all of them. In some ways, I think that it was being forced to read contempory, "important" literature that made me hate reading, and I kinda think that might be a flaw with the education system. (On the other hand, I know a lot of people who love those books, so maybe I'm wrong.)
Age Fifteen: By age fifteen I wasn't reading much of anything, fiction-wise. I'm sure there were some required books that I read, but nothing stands out. Instead, I had started getting involved in a few hobbies and most of my reading was related to that: I read a lot of non-fiction about railroads, because I have a huge love of trains and, at the time, model railroading. I can't think of any book specifically, though.
Age Twenty: And here's the happy ending. It was at age twenty that I was stuck in a situation where I had nothing to do but sit and wait for about a week, and the only distraction at my disposal was a copy of Huckleberry Finn. I read it, because I had nothing else to do, and I LOVED it. I read it again and again that week. It had been required reading during my junior year in high school, but I hadn't read it--I kind of BS'd my way through the tests--and I got grades to match my efforts. But now I loved it and I came to the realization that maybe, just maybe, some of those other books I was supposed to read might actually be good. I became a voracious reader, and began writing books of my own within just a few years.
Age Ten: This was when we were getting into my real hatred of reading. This was about the fifth grade, and we were required to read books like Tuck Everlasting and Summer of the Swans and Jacob I Have Loved and I hated (and still hate) all of them. In some ways, I think that it was being forced to read contempory, "important" literature that made me hate reading, and I kinda think that might be a flaw with the education system. (On the other hand, I know a lot of people who love those books, so maybe I'm wrong.)
Age Fifteen: By age fifteen I wasn't reading much of anything, fiction-wise. I'm sure there were some required books that I read, but nothing stands out. Instead, I had started getting involved in a few hobbies and most of my reading was related to that: I read a lot of non-fiction about railroads, because I have a huge love of trains and, at the time, model railroading. I can't think of any book specifically, though.
Age Twenty: And here's the happy ending. It was at age twenty that I was stuck in a situation where I had nothing to do but sit and wait for about a week, and the only distraction at my disposal was a copy of Huckleberry Finn. I read it, because I had nothing else to do, and I LOVED it. I read it again and again that week. It had been required reading during my junior year in high school, but I hadn't read it--I kind of BS'd my way through the tests--and I got grades to match my efforts. But now I loved it and I came to the realization that maybe, just maybe, some of those other books I was supposed to read might actually be good. I became a voracious reader, and began writing books of my own within just a few years.
Robison Wells lives in Provo, Utah with his wife and three children. Variant is the first book in a three-book deal with HarperTeen. For more info, visit http://www.robisonwells.com.
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