Repairing the World by Linda Epstein
Hi, Linda Epstein! I’m grateful you’re here today to talk about Repairing the World. First of all, I love that title so, so much! I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how it will resonate with people on so many different levels. Second, a big WOW to Peijin Yang’s cover illustration and Heather Palisi’s cover design. What ran through your heart the first time you saw it?
Please finish the following sentence starters:
Daisy and Ruby are the best kind of best friends to each other. Their friendship is forever.
Middle school can be challenging, especially when big changes happen in our lives. In some ways we might still feel like a little kid and in other ways we might feel very grown up. Sometimes we have to deal with very adult things, too, like people dying or getting sick, parents getting divorced and friends moving away. It can even feel like nothing will ever be okay again. But that’s not true. Things might be different, but there’s always some magic in the world, if we keep looking. Keep people around you who want to see magic, who want to repair the world, a little bit at a time.
John Schu, you should have asked me about Avery and Captain Marvel; about Mo and what bashert means; about jelly beans and Magic 8 balls and owl houses and what the kids really saw in the woods.
Linda Epstein lives in the Hudson Valley, in New York. She writes fiction for children, teens, and adults, and poetry for adults. Linda has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from The New School and is also a literary agent at Emerald City Literary Agency. Her debut middle grade novel, Repairing the World (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster), will be on bookshelves in the summer of 2022. Find Linda online at lindaepsteinauthor.com, on Twitter @LindaEpstein and @lindaepsteinauthor on Instagram.
Look for Repairing the World on July 5, 2022. Pre-order link coming soon!
Daisy and Ruby are totally inseparable. They've grown up together, and Daisy has always counted on having Ruby there to pave the way, encourage her to try new things, and to see the magic in the world. Then Ruby is killed in a tragic accident while on vacation, and Daisy's life is shattered.
Now Daisy is forced to start middle school without her best friend, and she finds it hard to get excited about things like the new baby her family is expecting, or figuring out her community service project for Hebrew school. But thanks to new friends, new insights, and supportive family members, Daisy is able to see what life without Ruby can look like. And she and her new friends find a way to create a lasting memorial to Ruby's spirit that many will be able to use and enjoy.
Linda Epstein: I had so many feelings seeing the cover of Repairing the World! I fell instantly in love with it. Peijin Yang captured Daisy so beautifully, from her slightly hunched shoulders, to the angle of her feet, and her purple Chuck Taylors. In my imagination the cover would be full of trees, with a hint of magic, and it is! My journey to publication has been a long one so seeing my name on what will be the cover of my book was a very emotional experience.
If you were telling sixth graders about Repairing the World, what would you share with them?
Linda Epstein: Repairing the World is a story where something very sad happens. It takes the main character, Daisy, a long time to work through her feelings. She doesn’t get not sad. But she learns how to see magic in the world again, even after a huge loss. She learns how to thrive, not just survive. I would want sixth graders to know that everyone has sad things happen in their lives. But friends––both old and new––can show up and be there for us, if we let them, and it’s never too late to mend a broken friendship.
Linda Epstein: Repairing the World is a story where something very sad happens. It takes the main character, Daisy, a long time to work through her feelings. She doesn’t get not sad. But she learns how to see magic in the world again, even after a huge loss. She learns how to thrive, not just survive. I would want sixth graders to know that everyone has sad things happen in their lives. But friends––both old and new––can show up and be there for us, if we let them, and it’s never too late to mend a broken friendship.
Click here to explore Linda Epstein's website.
Daisy and Ruby are the best kind of best friends to each other. Their friendship is forever.
Middle school can be challenging, especially when big changes happen in our lives. In some ways we might still feel like a little kid and in other ways we might feel very grown up. Sometimes we have to deal with very adult things, too, like people dying or getting sick, parents getting divorced and friends moving away. It can even feel like nothing will ever be okay again. But that’s not true. Things might be different, but there’s always some magic in the world, if we keep looking. Keep people around you who want to see magic, who want to repair the world, a little bit at a time.
John Schu, you should have asked me about Avery and Captain Marvel; about Mo and what bashert means; about jelly beans and Magic 8 balls and owl houses and what the kids really saw in the woods.
Thank you, Linda!!
Photo by Allison Hooban Photography
Daisy and Ruby are totally inseparable. They've grown up together, and Daisy has always counted on having Ruby there to pave the way, encourage her to try new things, and to see the magic in the world. Then Ruby is killed in a tragic accident while on vacation, and Daisy's life is shattered.
Now Daisy is forced to start middle school without her best friend, and she finds it hard to get excited about things like the new baby her family is expecting, or figuring out her community service project for Hebrew school. But thanks to new friends, new insights, and supportive family members, Daisy is able to see what life without Ruby can look like. And she and her new friends find a way to create a lasting memorial to Ruby's spirit that many will be able to use and enjoy.
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