August 2007 (cont.)

Reviews in major sources have used language such as “thought-provoking and beautifully literary,” “skilled and graceful writing,” and “each piece is perfectly executed.” But they have also questioned who the stories are for. Will teens “get” them? And will the more mature readers who will be able to appreciate the later stories make their way through the first in which two eleven-year-old girls build a world through dolls?

I can almost hear the reviewers shaking their heads.

Teen reviewers have been less circumspect. They have said things like, “amazing” and “it ended too soon.”

People have said to me, “Don’t worry. It’s the kind of book kids will pass from hand to hand.” But few kids will find the book if the adult gatekeepers have decided it’s not right for them.

I’ve discovered through some early promotional activities that Killing Miss Kitty is an equal-opportunity book. There is something in there to offend everyone...and different readers stub their toes on different stories for entirely different reasons.