The Children’s Book Review | November 17, 2016
The Children’s Book Review: Which five words best describe Wildlings?
Eleanor Glewwe: Twins, magic, music, friendship, activism
If you had to take a vacation with one of the characters from Wildlings, who would it be? Why?
Hmm, probably Azariah, because he could tell me the history of wherever we were and maybe take me to obscure archives.
What has been the best reaction from a reader, so far?
It hasn’t been very long, but so far a high school friend and a school librarian have told me they loved the book, so that’s made me pretty happy!
What’s on your nightstand? Any books?
One book: The Reader by Traci Chee. Also my current journal; my journal from exactly a year ago; two thin notebooks, both gifts from friends, one handmade; a bunch of pens; a business card from a map store in San Francisco; and a cassette tape by the St. Paul traditional music band Thistledown, which I found in Los Angeles and have yet to listen to (it’s hard to find a tape player).
For your writing energy: sugar or salt, tea or coffee?
Sugar or salt, depending on what I’m in the mood for. I don’t drink tea or coffee.
Writing tools: computer, pen and paper, or all of the above?
Almost always computer, but sometimes I use notebooks for brainstorming or troubleshooting.
Can you tell us one more thing we may not know about Wildlings, your writing style, or yourself?
I have the same musical history as Rivka in Wildings. I took cello lessons starting when I was a child, but I taught myself to play the violin by borrowing my friends’ instruments. A couple of summers ago, I bought my own violin at a thrift store. I remain a mediocre violinist.
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Written by Eleanor Glewwe
Publisher’s Synopsis: A captivating fantasy about the bond between twins, and the power of children to stand up for what’s right.
Rivka is one of the magical elite and the daughter of an important ambassador. But she harbors a deep secret: She once had a twin brother, Arik. When Arik failed to develop his own magical abilities, the government declared him a wilding, removed him from his home, placed him with non-magical adoptive parents, and forbade him any contact with his birth family. Now it is as if he never existed at all.
But Rivka refuses to forget her twin brother. Even though she knows she could lose everything—her father, her friends, even her freedom—she sets out to find Arik. She has nothing to go on except her still-new magical powers and her love for her brother. Can that possibly be enough to bring them together again, when all of society believes they belong apart?
Ages 10+ | Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers | 2016 | ISBN-13: 978-0451468857
Available Here:
About the Author
Eleanor Glewwe was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Minnesota. She plays the cello and once braved a snowstorm to perform in a chamber music competition. At Swarthmore College, she studied linguistics, French, and Chinese and worked in the music library, shelving composers’ biographies and binding scores with a needle and thread. More recently, she haunted the tunnels under the Minnesota State Capitol as a legislative advocate. Eleanor lives in Los Angeles, where she is a graduate student in linguistics. Visit her at eleanorglewwe.com.
This speed interview with Eleanor Glewwe, author of Wildlings, was conducted by Bianca Schulze. For similar books and articles, follow along with our content tagged with Fantasy, Magic, Twins, and Speed Interview.