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Interview with K. L. Going

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This interview was supposed to be part of Body Image and Self-Perception Month in July, but there were a few delays, so I’m posting it now as a follow up. I hope you enjoy it.

Most of the books that have been featured in Body Image and Self-Perception month have girls as the protagonists. Why did you choose to write about a boy with body image problems?

When I was writing Fat Kid Rules the World, the character came first and the issues came second. Troy came into my mind as a fully formed person with a voice and image all his own. As I followed where that voice led me, I began to understand that a lot of Troy’s journey had to do with body image. So, it wasn’t a choice I consciously made to write about a certain subject, but I’m glad I’ve been able to offer an alternative perspective.

What challenges did you face when writing from a boy’s point of view?

Whenever I write male characters, they usually cry in the first draft and then some male reader tells me that perhaps that’s not masculine enough! I’m not sure if this is true in today’s society, but nevertheless, it’s helpful to have someone double check my work. It’s the little details that can be the most challenging to capture correctly.

In your website FAQs you say that you’ve always been small and thin. More like Curt than Troy, yet Fat Kid Rules the World is from Troy’s point of view. What sort of research did you do so that you could accurately represent the experience of a much larger character?

Actually, I didn’t do too much research. I read other books that featured overweight characters, but mostly, I drew on my own feelings of self-consciousness that I felt as a teen. Those feelings (I believe) are universal, no matter what size you are.

I thought it was really interesting that you made Troy and Curt physical opposites. Why did you choose to do this?

As with my writing of Troy, this wasn’t something I consciously chose. Curt’s character was inspired by Kurt Cobain and he was always stick thin. I did, however, consciously decide that Troy’s brother Dayle was going to have eating issues. You may have noticed that he is always trying to gain weight for the sports he’s on and having troubles with that. I wanted to draw attention to the fact that eating disorders come in many sizes and shapes, and while Troy’s problems are obvious, Dayle has issues of his own that might not be seen at first glance.

I thought that Fat Kid Rules the World showed brilliantly how different our ideas of what other people notice about us can be from the reality. Troy obsesses about things that most other people either don’t notice or don’t care much about. Eventually he learns to stop worrying about the opinions of the few people who do insult him. Do you have any advice for teenagers struggling to accept themselves and their bodies?

Yes. I’d say that as hard as it is to believe, you’re beautiful just the way you are, and when you feel inadequate in some way, remind yourself that everyone feels this way in one form or another, no matter what they look like on the outside.

Do you have any favourite books about teenagers with body image and/or self-perception issues?

I’ve always loved Staying Fat for Sarah Burns by Chris Crutcher. Also, I’ll add that I have another book out that deals with both of these issues from the polar opposite perspective from Fat Kid Rules the World. It’s called King of the Screwups and it’s about a drop dead gorgeous guy who wishes he was a nerd.

Anything else you would like to add?

Just that I hope people will visit my web site: www.klgoing.com. Thanks for doing this interview!
I’d like to thank K. L. Going for answering my questions. Her responses have definitely given me some food for thought. I reviewed Fat Kid Rules the World as part of the themed month, as did Jo at Once Upon A Bookcase. Jo also reviewed King of the Screwups, which was mentioned in the interview.

Discussion: Endings

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As this is a discussion about endings, there will be spoilers ahead for the books I have reviewed and will be reviewing for Body Image and Self-Perception Month.

Several of the books that I have read for Body Image and Self-Perception Month have happy endings, with most if not all of the loose ends tied in. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, Last Chance, Girl Overboard, Jumping to Confusions and I Was A Teenage Fairy all have neat happy endings. As we all know, real life is not like that, some ends never get tied.

Some authors use open endings so that the tension created within the story continues on in the mind of the reader. This keeps the reader thinking about the story and the possibilities for the characters after they have finished the book. There is a sequel to Blood Ties, so it makes sense that the author left some ends hanging with Theo and Rachel’s relationship. In Everything Beautiful, most of the ends are tied up, but although Riley gives Dylan her contact information, we never know how their relationship progresses. Fat Kid Rules The World is similar. These novels resolve most of the protagonists’ issues and point out the way that the characters could go, but avoid a completely neat finish – they don’t give us a guarantee that the characters will follow through on their plans.

Some authors think that it is more realistic not to resolve any of the issues raised by the story or cement the relationships, however they can also make us feel like the story didn’t really finish. For example, I know I’m not alone in feeling that Second Star To The Right finished abruptly, but it was based on the author’s experiences of anorexia, and she hadn’t recovered herself when she wrote the book. Massive doesn’t show us what happens to Carmen or her mother in the end. Although it is doubtful that Maria will ever recover, Carmen shows that she might be able to escape the illness in the final, Barbie-doll-destroying, scene.

I’ll admit to being a fan of happy endings, especially in books like these in which the protagonist has to go through a really hard time. I like to feel uplifted after all that struggle! Happy endings offer a message of hope to the reader, and suggest that they can overcome their body issues too, which I think is really important.

In the comments on Luisa Plaja’s guest post on Once Upon A Bookcase, Jo raised the issue of books in which the protagonist starts to feel better about themselves once they have a romantic partner/interest. I actually find books in which the ending has the boy or girl feeling good about themselves because the person they likes likes them back depressing. I think self-esteem should come from within and that it’s a really bad idea to let your self-esteem depend on someone else’s opinion of you.  People can, of course, help you learn to love yourself more, as we see in many of these stories. But if one person is the sole reason for your new-found happiness in your own skin, what happens if they break up with you, or move away, or stop liking you?

In Jumping to Confusions, the protagonist doesn’t change her relationship with anyone else except Josh, and that made me slightly uncomfortable. She feels better about her body because a boy likes it, which on the one hand could prove to her forever that she is attractive, but if she broke up with Josh and then went through a long period of time without another boyfriend, she might feel completely unattractive all over again. Compare this with Fat Kid Rules The World, which is about a friendship rather than a romantic relationship, but it begins with Troy deciding not to kill himself simply because Curt has shown interest in him. Curt shows Troy that he can develop talents and find confidence from them, and by the end, Troy is confident enough to stand up to Curt. I think this is brilliant!

Families have a lot to do with self-esteem and I went into this in more detail in my guest post at Once Upon A Bookcase. Some of the happy endings in the BI&SP books involve the protagonist standing up to their parents. Troy argues Curt’s case to his Dad, and Virginia in The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things tells her parents that her weight is no longer up for discussion. Syrah of Girl Overboard learns how to talk her parents around to her point of view, and Barbie from I Was A Teenage Fairy changes her name and career. These stories all show characters that learn to be more confident and self-protective. They start to rely less on other people to feel good about themselves, and I think this is doing it right!

What kind of endings do you prefer? Do you believe open endings are more realistic? Where do you think self-esteem can and should come from?