![]() SIMON: Let me ask you a librarian question. KLISE: It's not a secret, but I think most of the students at my school still see me as the person who helps them find sources for research and can dependably clear a paper jam in the copier. SIMON: Do the youngsters at the library of the school where you're a librarian on the north side know of your secret life as an author? (Laughter) I guess it's not so secret now, is it? And when you're telling a story, you know, plausibility is king. I mean, it would be extraordinary for anyone to find a piece of artwork by Henry Darger in an alley, but it's plausible. And it struck me that maybe - while I knew that I needed something valuable to show up, and I needed it to be work that could plausibly be found in a Chicago alley. And I knew when I was working on the book, that I was going to be playing around with themes of being an insider and being an outsider in different situations in which that's the case. SIMON: We should explain he was kind of one of the original people who were identified as outsider artists - not coming from any particular tradition, but self-educated reflecting their own vision. And he's most famous for the illustrations that he made for the book. Among other things, he wrote a 15,000-page, typed manuscript. He was a very poor, very isolated, extremely obsessed, self-taught artist. He was a real character from Chicago art history. KLISE: So I'm glad you ask about Henry Darger. However, it is said to be the product of a real artist. SIMON: A mysterious piece of artwork comes into the plot. So their relationship is awkward at first. And he wants to help her, like everybody else in the school. And he wonders if there might be something there for him. And for Steve, he sees in Saba, again, a student who suddenly is at the center of the school social map. He represents a kind of teenage life that hasn't - she hasn't had access to until this relationship. KLISE: Well, for sure, Saba sees in Steve what everybody else sees - a good-looking, popular, class president, star athlete. Those first text messages between Steve and Saba are awkward and sweet. Most popular basketball player, most popular kid in the school. SIMON: Speaking of stretch - awkward transition here - Steve Davinski. KLISE: It didn't seem such a stretch to me to think that teenagers would be interested in hearing about grown-ups, especially when they're talking about the kids and what's going on at school. SIMON: That the implication being a parent might - or an adult might occasionally know something. Within young adult, it is taboo to include grown-up points of view. SIMON: And you also - gosh forbid - in a young adult novel, you also occasionally include the viewpoints of adults. And I thought it would be fun to put the reader in the position of knowing much more than any of the individual characters could know.īecause I knew I was telling a mystery, I thought would be interesting to sort of place the burden on the reader to be aware of the big picture in a way that none of the individual characters could be. I was interested in playing around with voice and point of view. I knew I wanted to tell the story from the point of view of a chorus. SIMON: By the way, you don't use a traditional, novelistic technique, but journal entries, articles, documents, text messages. The reader doesn't know what she means yet, but we find out. And when she says that, it's the very beginning of the book. And she has the potential to become wealthy because of the discovery of the artwork. Not only does she become much more visible on her school campus, she starts dating a very attractive, popular, senior boy. KLISE: Well, the fire creates a lot of opportunities for Saba. SIMON: Saba writes - I quote her words in your book - "the fire might have been the best thing that ever happened to me." How so? And he joins us from the studios of Chicago Public Media. He is also a high school librarian in Chicago. ![]() His previous book, "Love Drugged," won several YA awards. "The Art of Secrets" is James Klise's new novel for young adults. ![]() They organize an auction to help the Khans, but when a donated painting turns out to be a lot more than just garage art, rivalry and suspicion flair. Were they victims of a hate crime? Saba's high school rallies behind her family. ![]() The Khans are Americans of Pakistani descent. Saba Khan is a high school sophomore whose life is turned upside down in a flash - a mysterious fire that destroys her family's apartment on the North Side of Chicago. ![]()
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