Meeting Wrap-Up: So B. It by Sarah Weeks

The Book Buddies Book Club met this past Monday, April 20th at 3:30pm to discuss So B. It by Sarah Weeks. We had a great meeting and a great book discussion which we followed up with a telephone call with Sarah Weeks!

We started by discussing the meaning behind the title, So B. it, and Bernie's relationship with Heidi and her mom. We talked about agoraphobia, the disorder which Bernie suffers from, and how that impacted Heidi's life growing up. We also talked about mama's 23 words and how she is able to communicate in other ways besides the few words that she knows.

We thought about Heidi's early list of things she knows about her mother and how she only had one thing on it - the name So B. It. We brainstormed other things that we know about mama that Heidi could have put on her list including her 23 words, the jujyfruits that she loves, her obsession with the word soof, and her terrible headaches.

Heidi has a lot of responsibility growing up, shopping with her mother, running errands for Bernie and babysitting for extra money. We thought that these experiences would make her stronger and more mature and will help her when she is older and on her own.

We talked about the roll of film and Heidi's quest for information about her past. We agreed that it was a journey that Heidi had to take even though it meant leaving her mother and Bernie behind.

Overall, most club members really liked So B. It and would recommend it to friends!

Following the book discussion we called the author, Sarah Weeks who was busy working on a new book in upstate New York as a blizzard raged outside her door! She was absolutely lovely to talk with and thoughtfully answered all our questions.

We started by asking her if there will be a sequel to Heidi's story - and unfortunately the answer was no. She feels that Heidi's story has been told and that Heidi will be just fine in her life. She also thinks that Heidi will stay with Bernie for the forseeable future.

We asked about her new book which is called As Simple as it Seems and features another girl main character which is exciting for her because she's written more books about boys (the Guy series and Oggie Cooder). She hopes to finish the new book up this week!

She's been writing for 25 years and started out as a singer/songwriter. She's written 50 books, half of which are picture books and half that are novels. She also writes under the pseudonym Nat Gabriel (which is a combination of her son's names).

Her favorite books as a child were books by Dr. Seuss, Harry the Dirty Dog, Freddy the Detective and My Side of the Mountain.

In addition to writing, she teachers at a college in New York and spends a lot of time reading her student's writing. She also likes to keep up with what her friends are writing, and reads books by Pam Munoz Ryan, Sharon Creech and Jerry Spinelli.

We finished up by asking her what she would like to learn how to do and her answers were dancing and skiing!

Ms. Weeks was delightful on the phone and we so appreciated her taking the time out of her busy writing schedule to speak with us. A *BIG* thank you to Sarah Weeks with much gratitude from the Book Buddies Book Club!