YOU THE STORY: A WRITER'S GUIDE TO CRAFT THROUGH MEMORY

YOU THE STORY: A WRITER'S GUIDE TO CRAFT THROUGH THE MEMORY

Most of us are familiar with Ruta Sepetys' writing. Her amazing ability to write historical fiction in a way that causes us to see the scenes unfolding before us and feel the emotion is incomparable. With these thoughts in mind, how fun it was to discover that she has a book that takes a reader through the art of crafting a story based on their memories.

Woven throughout this book are various vignettes from Sepetys' life. From manager of rock and roll groups to a mentor for prison inmates to amazing writer, Sepetys has many moving and hilarious tales she shares. More than one time I laughed out loud while in a group setting reading her stories.

So what do you do with a book like this? Really there are a few options. First, the most obvious, if you think about writing or if you do write and want to grow your skills, it's a great read. Second, while it is an instructive book, the little glimpses Sepetys gives us of herself make this a fine book for pleasure reading. Third, I would seriously consider making this a part of my high schooler's writing curriculum for the year. It is well done.

HEADS UP- There are a couple of things to be aware of in the book. While she doesn't share a lot of the less than desirable things I'm sure she encountered in the rock and roll world, she does share the story of one performer completely stripping while in a club and bearing all to the world while on stage. She does not go into details about physical descriptions but does let us know that the results were not favorable for this performer. When working with inmates there are a few profanities from the inmate ( no F-bombs). She also talks about the ability she had as a young girl to talk in different voices including a "devil voice" she would use to play tricks on people.