by Dave
Amaditz &
Marcy
Collier
Welcome to September's version of - First Friday -
Five Favorite Things - Debut Novel Day. In this monthly series, we ask five
simple questions about a debut novel that will hopefully entice anyone reading
this post to pick up the novel and read it themselves, and/or give them at a
glance some insight into the author's writing style and voice as well as how
some of the characters might think or act. We do this by presenting, first,
answers to our Five Favorite Things, followed by the author's answers in a
follow-up post.
This month we're pleased to highlight debut YA
novelist, Leslie Stella, and her novel, Permanent Record. There's so much good
to say about this novel. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the excerpts we've chosen
below, follow the links we've included to read what others are saying, and
ultimately, check out the book for yourself.
1) What is your favorite line or paragraph from the novel as it relates to
the main character's development and/or growth?
Dave – In this scene Badi,
a.k.a. Bud (you need to read for yourself why the names are different) has
given up trying to fit in, trying to be normal. This passage gives you a little
insight as to the reason why, but you will need to read the book for yourself
to see what is the result of the decision.
The real reason I can't talk to Nikki is because I've moved off
the path to sanity and fitting in - even with the misfits - and where I'm
headed now, she can't follow. I love her and that hurts. Even Reggie, the type
of guy I've always admired - cool-geek, comfortable with himself, smart,
antiauthority - I can't be friends with him anymore because I'm giving up on
trying to get better. There are all those people who stand in my way, who haunt
me, dog my heels, from Leighton to Magnificat. The shit just never ends. I'm
giving in to being who I am now.
Marcy – The main character, Badi (also known as Bud) has never had any
real friends. He goes to this new school and faces one disaster after another. But
through all of the disasters, he makes a few friends along the way. But then he
questions if these people really are his friends. He doesn’t feel he deserves
to have friends. This is the point in the story for me that was pivotal. One of
his good friends Nikki tells him exactly how she feels, and he finally starts
to realize that he does have people who care about him.
I cross my arms. I knew
it would come to this. “You’re against me,” I say.
“Against you? Dude, I am against you back-to-back, surrounded by
infidels,” she says. “I am for you. I want you to succeed and be happy, even
though being happy seems completely unrealistic for people like you and me. I’m
getting concerned here. Scared. I’m afraid something bad is going to happen to
you. It’s making me not see things clearly, and I’m sorry.”
The meeting is due to start, so I go in and leave her behind. I
hate to do it.
2) What is your favorite chapter ending or cliffhanger?
Dave – There were a few chapter endings that I really liked, the end of
chapter 1, chapter 15 and 16, as they all really made me think, really brought
me closer to the main character, made me want to read more. In the end though,
I chose this one. To help you understand the scene, you need to know that King
Sargon is his cat and that "Car Wash of Death" is a song his brother
made up about wasting away working at a car wash.
King Sargon sits on my desk and looks out my bedroom window. I
close the door and play "Car Wash of Death" ten million times on
Dariush's turntable, lying on my bed, staring up at the darkening ceiling and
picking at my mole. I don't fall asleep though I'm beyond tired, and I can't
eat - not that anyone calls me for dinner and I can smell that it's orange
chicken koresh again, my favorite -
but my stomach is blocked by a trapdoor that closes whenever the depression
hits. And it is hitting hard. The only thing that gets me through is the thought
of what I will do to that school on Saturday night.
Marcy – This happens toward the
end of the story. I don’t want to spoil the novel so I won't give specific
details. Bud struggles with mental illness. Throughout the story, he tends to
bottle up his feelings and thoughts, but toward the end, he finally makes a big
transformation and begins to see life differently. He makes a tough decision
and a plea for help:
God help me out of this don’t leave me alone abandon me alienate
me hate me destroy me – floor rushes up to me – my little brother and sister
are crying, everyone’s crying but me. I can’t cry because I can’t breathe. I
can’t breathe because everything inside me shuts down.
3) Who is your favorite secondary character and why?
Dave – Dariush, Badi's (Bud's)
brother, is my favorite secondary character. He so confident and comfortable
with himself, even though he, like Badi (Bud) is a total disappointment in the
eyes of his parents. Also, he's not opposed to telling it like it is.
Following, is an example.
He stretches and gets up. "The thing you have to understand
about people," he says, "is that most of them suck, and you don't
want to be like them anyway. Just get through high school. I won't lie: people
suck after high school, too. But you'll be older then and will have given up,
so it won't be as devastating."
Marcy – I was honestly torn between Dariush, Bud’s
brother and Nikki. I ended up choosing Nikki, but was happy to see that Dave chose Dariush.
Nikki is one
of the few characters that not only accepts Bud for himself, but also accepts
others regardless of their problems. She’s not scared off by Bud’s crazy
stories or his problems like most people. She is the one person (other than his
brother) that he feels comfortable enough to allow inside his world.
Nikki’s bus is coming. She says, “I want to know it all. One day.
When you want to tell me everything.”
4) What is your favorite line or paragraph of description?
Dave – I had a list of about fifteen passages to choose from after I read
through the book, but in the end decided this passage was my favorite because
it showed Badi's (Bud's) humanity (and I almost used this section for my
favorite character growth) and the fact that he is not, as he says himself, a
total monster. I also picked it because the scene is so visual, yet still
evokes so much emotion.
I see the douche bag Trevor. He came with this girl from the newspaper
staff, and he pulls her chair out for her and then gets her a cup of lemonade,
and she takes it without looking at him and sets it on the table, and then
takes out her phone and plays around with it. And he sits there with this
miserable expression on his face, and he fixes his tie and leans in to say
stuff to her every so often, and she is not into him, and it's the kind of
thing that happens a million times a day, but when you see it happening to
someone in front of you, even someone as revolting as Trevor, you would have to
be an absolute monster not to feel some vestige of sympathy.
Dylan and his buddies and their dates pass by, and with them is
Dylan's little sister, the freshman he pointed out to me on my first day. She
has very bad skin and is not pretty - I'm sorry to say it and I'm not judging,
but there it is; and she's apparently dateless and tagging along with them -
probably their mother made her go because Dylan is Mr. Popularity - and he has
his hand lightly on her shoulder when she says something to him, and her whole
face is a study in misery, and he replies and pats her back, like, human, and his sister's posture,
hunched and defeated, embodies the last fourteen months of my life, when things
begin to misfire in my brain and the whole universe decided it was out to get
me.
(The scene goes on with more astute
observations, but I ended it early in an effort not to give away too much of
the plot. So please, read for yourself to see what happens).
Marcy – I love the descriptions in
this paragraph! I have a crystal clear snapshot of the images that Bud describes
– so vivid. And this scene also gives us a look through Bud’s eyes about Nikki.
Being that I ride public transportation every day, I see my fair
share of crazy, and sometimes it’s not pretty. Like the lady who brings the
baby carriage on the Western Avenue bus, but it’s holding Duraflame logs and
bottles of orange pop, not a baby. And there’s always a guy peeing on himself.
Always. It’s like a rule. Homeless people who yell at the bus driver; homeless
people who are trying really hard not to seem like homeless people, but they
are dragging kids with them and taking suitcases onto the bus and their money
is always carried in some complicated contraption tied to their belts. That’s
how I know Nikki is a decent human and not just a rich girl who lives in a nice
house in the city: she takes crazy in stride. You could just get up and move
away from the crazy people, but she stays put.
5) What is your favorite line of dialogue?
Dave – This quote comes from
Nikki, Badi's (Bud's) friend. She's supposed to be a misfit, too. I love how
this line makes you think, or rethink what, and whom, are normal.
"Look, I told them I was covering the bonfire for the
paper, Bud. I didn't know it was going to be this big thing with you. They like to take the twins out for wholesome
family fun on Saturday nights. I think they're at the shooting range."
Marcy
– Another laugh-out-loud line!
You
know your family’s got problems when the hippies with the stoned dog are
worried about you.
You
can find Leslie at:
Website:
www.lesliestella.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeslieStella11
Twitter: @leslie_stella
Permanent Record is available in
hardcover or for Kindle at:
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