Alane Ferguson
NOTHING WILL ENGAGE YOU LIKE A MURDER:
Young-adult mystery author Alane Ferguson
By Donna Freedman
After Alane Ferguson's best friend was killed, she was asked for details on Savannah's life. The police told Ferguson not to hold back, because any information she could offer might shed some light on her friend's death, and might help them convict the killer. As the tape recorder spun, Ferguson began to realize that the authorities already had their own pet theory: that Savannah had been two-timing her fiance, and he killed her in a jealous rage. Their theory was so wrong as to be laughable, and allowed the real killer - the security guard at Savannah's building - to walk free for almost five years.
That murder and its aftermath reverberate in the pages of Show Me The Evidence, her Edgar Award-winning young adult mystery. Its teenage protagonist, Lauren, struggles fiercely in the face of police skepticism to clear a friend's good name. Ferguson concedes that today's young readers are pretty jaded about the justice system, bombarded as they by Court TV and shows like "Hard Copy." Yet she trusts them to know what's fair and what's right. "They still want to have an ordered world, although intellectually they know better," says the author. "If I wrote a story where the killer got away, they'd be furious."
Although she broke into the business with a picture book (That New Pet!) and has also written young adult novels such as Cricket and the Crackerbox Kid and The Practical Joke War, it's mysteries that keep her hopping. She's already published three so far, including "Poison and Overkill", and is under contract to write three more. And with her mother, children's novelist Gloria Skyrzynski, she's also producing a series for younger children, called "Mystery Solvers Inc."
Ferguson is enthusiastic about the genre as it applies to younger readers:
Q. You've said you're interested in how the concept of justice fits into our lives. Do kids appreciate this?
A. I think they have a keen sense of justice. But they're jaded. They don't have a lot of blind faith in the system. You'll hear kids of 15 years old saying "O.J. (Simpson) can buy justice." They have a very sophisticated idea of what happens with justice - and they're right. Yet I do think that under all those layers of sophistication, there's a keen sense of fairness.
Q. What's toughest about writing mysteries for young readers?
A. One of the biggest challenges of writing for middle-grade, or even young-adult readers, is that I don't want to have too much violence in it - which really limits what you can do. It's important that they're not just bloodbaths, or glorifying violence. I always try to show that a person who dies leaves a hole. There's grief in my books. We're a society that has glorified violence; I believe that desensitizes people to what happens when someone is ripped out of your life. But it doesn't end. The pain goes on and on.
Q. How do you handle the concepts of danger and death?
A. I'm just absolutely confident that there's not an 11-year-old who doesn't know about death. I'm not going to introduce something new. Nobody's criticized the violence. It's one of the rules of mysteries. What would you have if you didn't have a murder in a mystery? You'd have something for the lower-level readers. When you get up into the upper levels, there's nothing that will engage you or compel you or get your emotions churning like a murder. It's the ultimate stakes. If your purse is stolen, it's just money. If your friend is stolen from you, you can't replace her. It's absolutely permanent.
Q. Your writing celebrates the day-to-day aspects of friendship - not the kind of thing you would find in a Nancy Drew book.
A. I write about relationships, particularly strong female ones. A Nancy Drew book is very different. It's very plot-driven. I'm trying to create unique friendships and individual characters. My goal is that you're going to connect to the character and the jeopardy that they're in. You'll connect on an emotional level and invest yourself in the outcome. I've tried to blend elements of the novel with elements of the mystery. Friends are very important to me. I'm really connected to people, and my relationships with people are paramount, so I write about relationships, particularly strong female ones. In my family there were six girls born in five years. We were best friends. And my parents raised all of us as first-class citizens. That gave me a real appreciation of strong females and strong female friendships.
Q. Your plots are often inspired by real life. Is that because truth is stranger than fiction?
A. When I hear something that makes me say "I don't BELIEVE that!," if it hits me in the gut, I know I can make a good story out of it. If it engages me, it should engage my readers. If I tell a story that I heard - say, the one where a girl killed her father - and I hear kids gasp, I've got 'em.
Q. What's the attraction of mysteries for kids?
A. It's the interactive nature: if you're giving them a puzzle, they're going to want to solve it. You're making it more complicated because you've given them characters with whom they can vicariously feel in jeopardy. You want the authorities to establish order, but the protagonist helps to establish this order. It lets the readers have a little control. Other novels I've done take you on an emotional journey. Mysteries challenge your intellect. You're pitting your wits against what's happening. If you don't guess (the ending), you say, "Wow, I didn't see that." You're never 100 percent sure of who's innocent and who's guilty. It's really hard to know what happened. Yet at the end of the mystery, it's all wrapped up. Life isn't like that. Wouldn't it be nice if it were?
Donna Freedman is a feature writer for the Anchorage Daily News, and a member of Sisters in Crime, Alaska chapter (motto: "Where the trail is always cold"). Her writing has appeared in American Girl, Boys Quest, Time Magazine For Kids, Girls' Life, Humpty Dumpty, Jack & Jill, and Kid City, as well as in a handful of grownup publications.
For further information about Alane Ferguson and her books, visit her website.
Reviews
Mystery of the Vanishing Creatures
Gloria Skurzynski & Alane Ferguson
This book continues the story of Catlin, who readers first met in Catlin's Big Idea. The Science Club is getting ready for the upcoming state competition, and suddenly the animals in the projects begin to disappear. Catlin thinks she knows the answer, but makes several false accusations. In the end, she really does find the culprit. A spunky heroine in an easy to read mystery that should entertain boys and girls. 1997, Troll, Ages 7 to 10, $2.95. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
Rage of Fire
Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson
The second in the new "National Parks Mystery" series finds siblings Jack and Ashley visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with their parents. After they meet Danny Tran and he introduces them to the legend of Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess, they find themselves lost in a volcano cone being pursued by what appears to be the angry Pele herself. The book has the feel of the old Happy Hollisters or Bobbsey Twin books, with an overlay of ecological information and a selection of National Geographic's usual excellent photos and maps. 1998, National Geographic Society, Ages 8 to 12, $15.95. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr
Secrets
Alane Ferguson
Twelve-year-old T.J. is a moody loner who likes animals better than people. His mother died when he was a baby, and T.J. can't help feeling that he's a disappointment to his father, an aging businessman who likes to be in control of everything - including his son, who resists it. T.J.'s life blows apart when his biological mother secretly contacts him; no one ever told him he was adopted. He passes through denial, anger, resentment of his newfound half-sister, and finally the beginnings of love. But what if his father finds out? Ferguson's voice is true, and her characterizations subtle but telling. 1997, Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers, Ages 10 up. $16.00. Reviewer: Donna Freedman
Tumbleweed Christmas
Alane Ferguson
Illustrated by Tom Sully
Scotty and his mother are heading to his grandparent's for the Christmas holidays. As they head across the desert, their car breaks down and they are rescued by Jasper, owner of the Dry Bean Hotel. Scotty isn't too happy, but when he goes through Jasper's box of Christmas stuff, he finds cards and letters from people he helped over the years. Looking out the window, Scotty gets an idea. He takes a piece of sagebrush and creates a Christmas tree. The oil paintings rich in texture show the vast emptiness of the desert, the red adobe Dry Bean Motel and the orange sky and sand as the sun sets. As Scotty and his mother drive away in their repaired car, he looks at the star shinning in the sky and closing scene further emphasizes the true meaning of Christmas. 1996, Simon & Schuster, Ages 4 to 7, $15.00. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
Updated 1999
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