Fourteen-year old Sylvia鈥檚 having a hard time. She鈥檚 way to small for her age, the kids at school pick on her, and her medication鈥檚 making her sick. And to top it off, the horse her grandpa sent her isn鈥檛 what she expected 鈥� in more ways than one.
Made That Way, the standalone sequel to Born That Way, is Susan Ketchen鈥檚 second book. Over the next week, the Comox Valley author will sign copies of her new release at Coles, Blue Heron Books and Laughing Oyster Book Shop.
OK, I admit I was horse-crazy as a young girl. Even so, I didn鈥檛 expect to really like Made That Way. To my delight, I was wrong. The first few pages drew me right into Sylvia鈥檚 world. By the end of the first chapter, I cared about the plucky young teen and the people and animals in her life. And I found it easy to empathize with her challenges and to rejoice in her ultimate successes.
Sylvia鈥檚 recently been diagnosed with Turner鈥檚 Syndrome, which means that even though she鈥檚 14, she has the body of an eight-year-old. Even though being pint-sized causes problems, Sylvia鈥檚 main goal in life is to own a horse. Her grandpa promised to buy her one as soon as she鈥檚 as tall as his shoulder. In the meantime, she hangs out at the local stable, learning what she can and waiting to grow.
Then Grandpa calls to say he鈥檚 sending a horse now and Sylvia鈥檚 elated. But when the horse arrives, there鈥檚 definitely something different about it. And only Sylvia suspects the cause.
Although much about Sylvia鈥檚 life makes her feel powerless, as she studies the hierarchy of herd dynamics at the stable, she gains insights into navigating the world of human relationships.
Made That Way is a story about growing up, coming to terms with self and others and gaining the emotional tools to deal with the unexpected.
The characters, young and old, human and animal, are believable and likable. The plot is original and has lots of unique twists and turns, and Ketchen鈥檚 engaging writing style makes the book an engrossing read. Her wry sense of humour surfaces often.
Ketchen says horses and writing have been passions since she was young. 鈥淚 think some of the earliest books read to me as a child were about horses. I鈥檝e always loved storytelling and was writing my own stories by the time I was in Grade 2. And, just like Sylvia, my grandpa promised me a horse as soon as my head came to his shoulder.鈥�
Turner鈥檚 Syndrome wasn鈥檛 part of the initial idea for her first book. 鈥淎fter I鈥檇 been writing for a while, I realized Sylvia was unusually short,鈥� Ketchen explains. 鈥淪o I did some research on the Internet to see what might be causing the problem.鈥� The Internet鈥檚 also where Ketchen got her information on the unusual horse Sylvia ends up with.
鈥淎 lot of what鈥檚 in the book wasn鈥檛 part of the initial idea for the books,鈥� Ketchen notes. 鈥淚 try to let the story in the back of my brain come forward without being too intentional about it. If I plan too much, the writing doesn鈥檛 flow. The basic idea was to write a story about a young girl yearning for a horse.鈥�
When Born That Way was published in 2009, Ketchen hadn鈥檛 planned on writing a sequel. 鈥淚 started working on another book, but just couldn鈥檛 build up any momentum,鈥� she admits. 鈥淭hen I started writing about Sylvia again and it just caught fire, so I gave in.鈥�
The same thing happened with the third book in the series, Grows That Way, tentatively scheduled for a fall 2011 release.
Ketchen doesn鈥檛 wait for the muse to move her. 鈥淚f I did, I鈥檇 never get any writing done,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 try to be in my writer鈥檚 attic loft by 9 or 10 and work until noon or 1 p.m.鈥� She took about three months to write each of the books and then spent several months rewriting.
Although her books were originally classed as young adult novels, Oolichan Books now calls them family fiction. 鈥淢ost of my fan mail is from readers age 18 to 60,鈥� says Ketchen. 鈥淔amily fiction is a relatively new term, but a lot of novels written for adults in the past have featured young protagonists.鈥�
Ketchen was born in Nanaimo and was a marriage and family counsellor for many years. A Comox Valley resident for 20 years, she lives on a small farm with her husband, two horses, two cats and a flock of chickens.
As well as being written by a Comox Valley author, the covers of Born That Way and Made That Way are illustrated by local photographer Isobel Springett. And Ketchen鈥檚 website (www.susanketchen.ca) has the best book trailer I鈥檝e ever seen. It features two of her horses and was filmed by another Valley resident, Rita Picard.
Made That Way (169 pages, softcover) is published by Oolichan Books and retails for $12.95.
鈥� 鈥� 鈥�
Book signings:
March 18 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Coles in the Driftwood Mall;
March 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Blue Heron Books in Comox;
March 26 from 1 to 2 p.m. at Laughing Oyster Book Shop in Courtenay.
