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From the Story

Why do you think the book's lead character, Stanley Yelnats, connects with so many children?

Stanley isn't a hero-type. He's a kind of pathetic kid who feels like he has no friends, feels like his life is cursed. And I think everyone can identify with that in one way or another. And then there's the fact that here he is, a kid who isn't a hero, but he lifts himself up and becomes one. I think readers can imagine themselves rising with Stanley.

 

Are your characters based on people you know?

No, they're not.

 

Why did Zero admit to Stanley that he stole the shoes when Stanley had no clue that Zero really stole them?

He felt guilty about it. But you can see he kind of was too conflicted to just go right out and say, "You didn't do it, I did." That is a hard thing to do, so it was just bubbling inside him all that time. That's why, when Stanley got in trouble for stealing the seeds, Zero finished digging his hole for him. And then when Zero finally admitted everything to Stanley, Zero thought he was going to die. Zero was really sick and he wanted to get it off his chest before he died.

 

Where, specifically, did you get the idea for the yellow-spotted lizard?

That was something I threw into the mix at the very beginning, figuring it would make it more exciting. I wasn't quite sure how I would use him in the story. But I began by creating what I thought was an intense and colorful setting, and added the lizard just to throw an element of danger in.

 

Do you have any experience with juvenile facilities yourself?

No.

So how did you know how to write about that?

It's not a very realistic place. I mean, I don't think there is a juvenile facility where the kids have to dig holes all day and have such crazy guards and wardens. So it's very fictional. It was never my intention to write a story about a juvenile detention facility. It was my idea to write an adventure story about a boy escaping such a place.