John Corey Whaley
John Corey Whaley
John Corey Whaleyis an American writer of contemporary realistic novels for young adults. His first novel, Where Things Come Back, was published by Atheneum Books in 2011 and Whaley won the Printz Award from the American Library Association in 2012, recognizing it as the year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth19 January 1984
CountryUnited States of America
family form relationships
I do come from a very close family. And I'm fascinated, in particular, with family relationships and the relationships that we all form with friends who feel as close, if not closer, than family.
grow less ready risks seeing taken until worried younger
I regret waiting until my mid-twenties to really start seeing the world. I think I should have taken more risks when I was younger and worried less about being ready to grow up.
books consuming experience matter needed sitting source stories struggle time until
I remember, for the first time, sitting down and consuming books in a matter of hours. This was such a new experience for me because reading, up until that point, had been such a struggle and source of stress. I think I just needed to find the right kind of stories with which I could identify.
contract fourth knew teaching
In the middle of my fourth year teaching is when I got my book contract - in 2010. I knew the book would come out in May 2011.
adapt few home prefer work
If I'm really under pressure to get work done, I can adapt to most situations, but I prefer to be at home, in a comfortable chair, with as few distractions as possible.
books bring excited history literary second thrilled whose wider
I'm beyond thrilled to be working with Faber, whose literary history is second to none. And I'm even more excited to bring my books to a wider audience in the U.K.
andrew great obsessed
I'm completely obsessed with Andrew Smith's 'Winger.' A great, hilarious, and moving story.
call stories
Call it egotistical or narcissist, but I think that's what we all look for in books - the right stories that help us make sense of the world that we, on a very personal level, live in every day.
worry questions-asked
I thought maybe a day was coming when I'd stop constantly worrying about how to live. Maybe at some point I'd just start living, no questions asked.
fate dying-alone people
Some people say dying alone is a fate worse than death itself. Well, they should try being alone during the living part sometimes. There's no quicker way to make you wonder why the hell you ever thought you'd want to return.
brother memories perspective
Not only had my brother disappeared, but--and bear with me here--a part of my very being had gone with him. Stories about us could, from them on, be told from only one perspective. Memories could be told but not shared.
sorry feelings world
I wanted the world to sit back, listen up, and let me explain to it that when someone is sad and hopeless, the last thing they need to feel is that they are the only ones in the world with that feeling. So, if you feel sorry for someone, don't pretend to be happy. Don't pretend to care only about their problems.
powerful way complicated
Maybe we all just exist, all versions of us exist at times, and we have to figure out a way to get to each of them, to find each one and tell that version that it's okay, that it's all justthe way it works, a concept too powerful to ignore but too complicated to explain.
thinking littles too-much
I often found myself in situations where I had, without thinking, said too much to too many with too little caution.