Author Interview - David Yoo - The Detention Club

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

DAVID YOO

THE DETENTION CLUB

Middle grade books that feature kids in middle school are some of my favorites to check out.  The Detention Club is all about sixth graders, so it falls right into that category.  The author, David Yoo, is here today to answer my questions and he somehow gets on the subject of dodgeball.  Woot!  

 Describe The Detention Club in 5 words.

Mini-cats, land-skiing, straight-jackets, Roman-Candles, Candy-Necklaces.

Which of the Detention Club characters is most like you?

Peter—he’s perpetually looking for the simplest solution to things and as a result he ends up doing the hardest. Story of my life.

Favorite Memory from sixth grade.

I was really good at dodgeball. I didn’t have soft hands, so I avoided trying to catch the ball and on top of that I also was rarely able to peg someone with a throw, but I was really good at the dodging part. In gym class I’d usually win by attrition—avoiding getting hit until someone on the other side finally “O’Doyle Rules!” the last opponent in the back with a ball. Frustratingly, not even my own teammates seemed happy when I’d finally win—everyone was just tired of playing by that point. Having recognized this special skill, though, I tried to popularize what I’d deemed “close-quarters tag” after school, but it never caught on. I’d challenge a friend to catch me and then instead of run away I’d stay in a tight little circle dodging him with ease, as if we were shadow-boxing, and after a while he’d give up and say, “This feels stupid.”

How do you hope to celebrate the release of The Detention Club?

I’m going to drive my 1-year-old son, Griffin, to the nearest bookstore so he can nibble ferociously on a copy of the book (his favorite snack now that he’s teething), and then leave without buying the copy (because I’ve been told Barnes and Noble has to purchase disfigured copies), which kills two birds with one stone. I’m all about killing two birds with one stone, whenever possible.

Do you have any projects?

My first collection of essays for adults, The Choke Artist: Confessions of a Chronic Underachiever (Grand Central), comes out April, 2012. I’m also currently on my third attempt at building from scratch a working, miniature hot air balloon for my son in my basement. Previous attempts have failed at the clinical trials stage. I don’t recommend anyone try this, by the way—it’s incredibly dangerous, at least for me, given all the ridiculously flammable, exposed insulation in our basement. I just hope my son someday appreciates all the risks I take to entertain him.