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Marie Marquardt and Carlos Morataya Talk THE RADIUS OF US, Art, and Life in the U.S.

In Marie Marquardt’s THE RADIUS OF US, art plays an integral role, especially when it comes to the character of Ari, a twelve-year-old boy who, due to a traumatic experience, is unable to speak and communicates through drawing. Marie worked with a great illustrator (and an all-around great person) named Carlos Morataya to bring Ari’s “voice” to the page. Here’s a conversation they had just before the book released. 

Marie: It was such a great experience working with you to come up with the illustrations for this story, Carlos. Thank you!

Carlos: You’re so welcome. It was an honor to work with you, Marie.

Marie: From the moment that I saw your first drawing, I knew that you would capture Ari’s “voice” beautifully. What was it like to draw from the perspective of a twelve-year-old trauma survivor?

Carlos: When you explained to me the story, and when I did my first drawing, I tried to really see through the eyes of his character. I drew pictures when I was twelve, and the sketches that I did were not what I would do now. So I tried to go back to that—to my twelve-year-old self.

I wanted to keep the drawings simple because, in many of them, he was showing something that made him afraid. He wouldn’t be trying to perfect the picture. The kid was suffering and he would be remembering something hard. I’m guessing he wouldn’t be trying to make his drawings perfect.

Marie: When we started working together on this project, I learned that you share a few things in common with Ari’s big brother, Phoenix, who is a main character in this story. For example, you both came to Georgia from Central America when you were eighteen. Can you talk a little about your life before coming to the United States?

Carlos: I was born in Guatemala City’s Zone 18. It wasn’t that bad back then, but it has become a dangerous part of the city, with a lot of gang activity. Guatemala City now has one of the highest homicide rates in the world.  

I didn’t know my parents. I was raised by my grandparents until I was eight. When my grandmother died, I was sent to an orphanage in Sacatepéquez—a small town about 45 minutes from Guatemala City. I was eight years old when I went there.

In the orphanage, I had all of the things I needed—food, toys, a place to sleep—everything that a kid needs. But something that was really missing is, you know, your mom, your parents. You can give a kid toys or whatever, but for me personally, what I was missing was maternal love, the love of my parents.  I never understood why I ended up there, why I had to deal with it, but you get used to it. You go to school, you make friends, you learn to live with it. 

Marie: Another thing you share in common with Phoenix and Ari is that you had a lot of experience with short-term missionary groups from the United States. Can you share a little about that experience? 

Carlos: American missionaries often came to the orphanage for about a week at a time, and they would do things like paint the school, take care of the babies. They gave us a lot of attention—playing games with us, bringing toys and games. When they left, many of them promised to come back. But they never did.

It’s so sad. Those people would come and give you their time for a week, and the kids in the orphanage are like, ‘Wow, someone is coming to care for me!’ and then the missionaries are like, ‘Well, time for us to go, but I’ll be back next year!’ But then they never show up again. I think they had good intentions, but I learned, by the age of 14 or 15, never to get too close to the missionaries. 

That attachment—you feel very attached. They may not mean to lie to you about coming back one day, but maybe just their lives get busy. I didn’t understand that until I moved here —life here is busy! Even kids are always so busy here in the U.S. So keeping attention on a kid you spent a couple of weeks with in Guatemala may not be the priority, once you are back in the United States.

Marie: In my story, Phoenix describes a complicated relationship with the missionaries. But one good thing they did for him was teach him to speak English really well. Did that happen for you, too?

Carlos: I grew up in an orphanage run by American missionaries, so I learned English there, but I didn’t really speak it really well until I got here.

Marie: How did you end up moving to north Georgia when you were eighteen?

Carlos:  When I was 18, a missionary family came to the orphanage from Georgia. They wanted to adopt a kid. I was too old to adopt, but they offered to help me come to the U.S. as a student. The offer was too good to pass up! I moved to Cumming, Georgia and went to a small Christian high school on a student visa.

Marie: What were you expecting when you came here?

Over the years, those missionaries had painted a picture of the U.S. for me: “Everything there [In the United States] is perfect, and everything here [in Guatemala] is bad.” I quickly learned that every country has its problems, and the United States is no exception.

When I moved to America I started to understand that life here is busy—work, work, work, work. Parents here work so hard to give things to their kids. That may seem to be the best for the kid, but money maybe isn’t as important as loving your kid for an extra hour or two. That’s something that I think Americans need to think about more often. Just stopping work and loving their kids.

Marie: That’s some great advice, Carlos. Thanks! What was it like, being here in Georgia?

Things were tough here at first, but I worked hard to finish high school. My high school was great. I got so much support from the teachers and I even lived for a while with my school counselor. I feel so grateful for my school. I was proud to do well enough to be offered scholarship opportunities for both art and soccer. I’m in college at University of North Georgia now, studying art education.

Marie: What’s next for you?

Carlos: I would like to continue studying for an art degree and eventually become an art teacher, and a Spanish teacher, to teach kids what I’m passionate about and also to teach our culture. I’d like to teach high school.

 Marie: It’s been a real honor to work with you, Carlos! I look forward to seeing you do great things in the future.

And don’t forget to pick up your copy of THE RADIUS OF US from your favorite retailer today! For more books and buzz, visit GriffinTeen.com.

#Griffin Teen #Marie Marquardt #The Radius of Us #author #booklr #interview

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IT’S HERE. 

IT’S HERE.

Words cannot describe how excited we are for the paperback edition of Carry On. So here are some GIFs that will attempt to portray how we felt when we saw this cover (drawn by @kevinwada) for the first time. First we were in awe.

Then came our excitement.

Then. THEN. We realized how HOT Simon and Baz look. I mean, those eyes. That deep V. THEIR HAIR. It’s too much.

AND THEN we realized how close Simon and Baz are to touching. And, well...

Full range of emotion. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. We love you, @rainbowrowell and the emotional journey we’re on together. 

Preorder your copy now! http://smarturl.it/bniq6i

#paperback #rainbow rowell #YA lit #books #cover reveal #emotions #carry on #simon snow #simon and baz #i read ya #ya books #book recommendation #letsread #kevin wada #art #book art

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What was your favorite read in 2016? 

#young adult #buzzfeed #star-touched queen #roshani chokshi #fantasy ya #ya lit #book recommendation

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Today's #NaNoWriMo advice comes from @laurieelizabethflynn, author of Firsts

"Make writing a habit and try to get words down on the page without self-editing. NaNo is all about having fun making the mess and exploring all the ideas your brain conjures up. There will be plenty of time to fix things later!"

#nanowrimo2016 #advice #writers on writing #writing #books #griffin teen

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Me when I lend a book to a stranger...or my best friend.

#book confessions #You've Got Mail #steve zahn #f-o-x #bookstore #books #i trust no one

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Check out C. C. Hunter’s interview with Roshani Chokshi on her blog! Enter to win The Star-Touched Queen.

Don’t forget to pre-order Midnight Hour--out 10/25! 

#C. C. Hunter #Roshani Chokshi #Midnight Hour #The Star-Touched Queen #ya lit #Shadow Falls #book rec #interview #sweepstakes #enter to win

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Who needs high school guidance counselors when we have books?* * just kidding, guidance counselors are very important, but books are good company in the middle of the night. 

#wise #words of wisdom #buzzfeed #literature #books #love to read #am reading #book advice #books save lives

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Finished reading You Know Me Well and want more Nina LaCour and David Levithan? Head to the @bnteen blog and read their interview about what it was like to work together, what they’re working on next, and more! Buy your copy of You Know Me Well today! For every book sold in the next two weeks, David Levithan will donate $1 to The Trevor Project. 

#Griffin Teen #barnes & noble #ya lit #lgbtqia lit #lgbtquia #author interview #authors #ireadya #ya reads #summer reads #You Know Me Well

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“Read me, baby. One more time.”

Child: “What were the early 2000s like?“ 

Me: *Hands them this ALA "READ” poster and walks away.*

#Harry Potter #britney spears #early oughts #things that make you want to read?

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The Memory of Things by @gaepolisner​ , available 9/6/2016 The Best Possible Answer by @ekatwrites, available 11/1/2016 For more info, visit www.griffinteen.com!

#Griffin Teen #YAlit #yareads #ireadya #book rec #read this #contemporary ya

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Summer is officially in session, booknerds! What's in your summer TBR pile?

#Griffin Teen #booknerds #TBR #TBR pile #books #currently reading #You Know Me Well #Summer Days and Summer Nights #The Possibility of Somewhere #The Memory of Things #YA Books #YA Reads #Booklr #bookstagram

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Come to @mcnallyjackson tonight at 6:00 PM! @naturallysteph , David Levithan, Nina LaCour, and Lisa Williamson will be there! For more info: http://www.mcnallyjackson.com/event/david-levithan-nina-lacour-special-guests-stephanie-perkins-lisa-williamson

#griffin teen #you know me well #ya lit #we need diverse books #i read ya #books #reading #summer reads #McNally Jackson

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All the Rage comes out in paperback 6/28. Visit GriffinTeen.com for more information!

“This is what happens when you write a book about a rape survivor: the first thing many people will do is refer to it as ‘another Rape Book’ and then they’ll ask you sincerely why you wrote it—but they’ll ask in a way that suggests we’ve capped out on these stories. That these narratives are no longer culturally relevant. Why did I write All the Rage? Look around.”

Romy by @realmlovejoy

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It’s #ThrowbackThursday and we’re traveling through time with Karen Akins’s LOOP and TWIST!

#GriffinTeen #ThrowbackThursday #Booklr #YA #YABooks #YA Lit #Time Travel #Karen Akins #books #currently reading #booknerds

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Is it possible to break YouTube’s replay button? Head on over to Twitter and tell us which Disney classic should receive the live-action treatment next! https://twitter.com/GriffinTeen/status/734756373376929793

#Griffin Teen #Beauty and the Beast #Disney #Be Our Guest #Emma Watson #A Tale as Old as Time

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Preorder SUMMER DAYS AND SUMMER NIGHTS beach balls rollin' out next week! Check yo' mailboxes #yalit #SDandSN #summerdaysandsummernights #summerlove #yareads @naturallystephperkins

#sdandsn #summerlove #yareads #yalit #summerdaysandsummernights