Issue Six - Not Your School Summer Reading List

Yvonne Prinz

Interviewed by Michelle Delisle

 

Hiya Yvonne!  Thanks so much for the interview.  So, we always want to know whatcha’ reading now?

I just finished a book called “Blame” by Michelle Hunevan. A beautiful story, exceptionally well told.  I just bought “Ablutions” today by Patrick DeWitt. I Think I’ll read that next.

 

This issue of the e-zine is all about summer and Allie, the main character in The Vinyl Princess, has a very cool summer job working at an indie music store in Berkley.  What were the best and worst jobs you had as a teen?

The best job I ever had as a teen was working in a record store at 16. It comes with a lot of instant cool and I learned at the elbow of some top-notch music geeks. The customers can be fun too.

At 14 I got a job clearing tables in a food court at the mall.  I can’t even begin to describe the level of disgust for the human race I acquired. Also, my hair smelled like hot dogs even after I washed it. I did make friends with the girl at the softee place and I got free soft serve ice cream all summer.

 

Yeah, hotdog hair sounds pretty gross, but cool about the record store.  Is that why you picked a record store as the setting for Allie’s job?

I set out to write a book about a music geek and that’s where they all work or wished they worked. Allie is more at home at Bob & Bob’s than anywhere else on earth. Plus, I worked on the front lines at my own record store, Amoeba, for five years so I felt qualified to describe the record store experience accurately.  

 

Obviously you’re passionate about music and I bet a lot of WRN’ers love books that weave music into the plot.  Do you have any favorite teen, middle grade or picture books (in addition to The Vinyl Princess, of course!) that you’d like to recommend?

I don’t come across a lot of books where music plays a large part. “Struts and Frets” by Jon Skovron is great. “King Dork” by Frank Portman is loads of fun.  Music themes aside, I love Jack Gantos’ “Joey Pigza” series and “A Hole In My Life” for older kids,  and Louis Sachar’ “Holes” is one of my all-time favorites. I’m not a huge fan of fantasy, Paranormal or “High Concept” books. I look for good writing.

 

I’m a huge fan of  Louis Sachar too!  We reviewed his new book this month.  It was a great read.  O.K., back to your book.  One of the really cool things that Allie does is start a blog for other fans of vinyl and she ends up hearing from people all around the world.  Is there anything on-line like that for vinyl fans?

I found dozens just by googling “Vinyl Records” when I was writing the book, but then the web is so huge, you could probably find dozens of sites for “Chainsaw Jugglers” too. My blog, written by Allie herself, at www.thevinylprincess.com delves into all genres of vinyl but Allie posts new music and news daily on her facebook page as “Vinyl Princess”.

 

Now, Allie hates the word MP3 and I imagine you get most of your music at Amoeba Records, but—and you don’t have to answer this—have you ever downloaded music?

Yes. I think it’s impossible not to, especially when you’re doing research and you need to grab a song quickly.  I’ve even been grateful for iTunes as a research aid from time to time, though I don’t find them to store deep catalogue like we do at Amoeba.

 

I loved some of the obscure titles that Bob & Bob’s carried.  They brought in interesting customers and, really, throughout the book, Allie is surrounded by an eclectic mix of characters.  Two of my favorites were her boss, Bob, and her grandmother Estelle.  Did you base them in part on real people?

Bob is a composite of a few record store owners I’ve known over the years, one of them being our partner at Amoeba, Marc Weinstein, who drums in three bands and has a very deep knowledge of most kinds of music. Estelle is someone I conjured. I wanted all of the female characters in this book to be strong and thoughtful, with their own opinions. Estelle cuts a wide swath of change wherever she goes. She’s one of my favorite characters too. When I think of her I sort of picture Rita Moreno. Even though Rita is Italian and Estelle is Jewish, New Yorker.

 

Summer break is a time when teens change and grow a lot, not just physically, but emotionally, too.   Allie is no exception and The Vinyl Princess chronicles a summer of upheaval in her life.  What do you feel was her biggest change?

Her loss of ”Downy Innocence” (to quote Michael Chabon). Over a summer, Allie is forced to deal with her father moving on permanently, illustrated by the pregnancy of his new younger wife. She has to come to terms with the closing of Bob’s, which is her comfort zone and the church where she worships. She also has her first “bad boy” experience, which forces her to understand the qualities she’s really looking for in a boyfriend.  She won’t get fooled again (to quote The Who). 

 

Quoting The Who works for me.  But, if you had to pick one song or artist or album that best represents The Vinyl Princess what would it be?

“The First Day Of My Life” by Bright Eyes.

 

So, what’s next for you?  Are you working on another book with a music theme?

All of my books reference music. I can’t help myself. The next one (January 2011) is called “All You Get Is Me”. It’s about a girl named “Roar” (short for Aurora) who ends up on an organic farm in northern California after her mother, an alcoholic, disappears form their home in San Francisco. Roar’s dad, a human rights lawyer, takes on a landmark legal case when a Mexican migrant farm worker is killed by a local. It’s a sort of a “To Kill A Mockingbird” for these times.

 

Finally, our bonus question, because we’d all love to know one random thing about you! So spill.

I’m actually Canadian but both my parents are Dutch. I spoke Dutch before I spoke English.

 

Thanks Yvonne.  Very cool interview.  And hey WRN’ers check out the official Vinyl Princess blog at www.vinylprincess.com it’ll give you some great ideas for summer listening.  Happy Reading!