Worst of all, she comes home most days after 4 th grade and rages about how much homework she has. She’s bright, talented, but drifting further and further behind in reading and math. Why couldn’t I muster the patience and strength to help him? And on the flip side, why couldn’t he just get it together?

The thing I still didn’t understand was how this Anthony in my head related to the pain in my class. But figuring out that Anthony was actually a bright, sensitive kid was the easy part. While writing each of these novels I realized that I had a ton of empathy for both the Trinas and Anthonys of the middle school world (really I have sympathy for any organism that has to spend time in a middle school). For the first time, Anthony is being seen as he truly wants to be seen… but is it for the right reasons? If this really is his big chance, will he take it? Can he afford not to? In BREAKOUT, Anthony has to decide whether or not to defy school rules and perform his viral hit song, one that includes some choice f-bomb lyrics. In CARLOS, Trina has to decide whether she will stand up to her band of so-called friends, and whether those friendships are right for her. That narrator, Trina, was exactly the kind of fast-talking, conflict-magnet girl who’d made every seventh grade class a harrowing drama. A similar thing had happened with my first novel CARLOS IS GONNA GET IT. I was like, come on, I really have to spend more time with you?īut I knew to run with it. So I was pretty surprised, after having a particularly challenging group of eighth grade boys, to hear Anthony Castillo’s voice in my head, narrating the start of my new novel BREAKOUT. I’d bet that everyone who’s worked in education has felt this way at least a time or ten. We’d get to the middle of the school year and I’d think, fine, you don’t want to make the effort? I’ll focus on the kids who actually care.

Carlos is gonna get it by kevin emerson