“Willow” is Julia Hoban’s first novel, and I had the pleasure of attending a reading of hers a few weeks ago after studying the book in my Adolescent Literature class. I found the experience of the two hours extremely interesting, getting the chance to hear and author discuss her novel- a novelist is what I aspire to be. It was different to put a face to the words/story; fun to see what type of tale she weaves and link certain things to what type of person she seems to be. Hoban came off as eccentric, even declared herself so with the first words out of her mouth. She wears hats she designs herself and refuses to have her picture taken. But she’s also a very kind, warm, and thoughtful person.
The novel itself is tough material, a girl whose parents died tragically. Willow blames herself for the car accident and now, as the novel opens, is an intense, emotionally distant cutter. Readers would say that that is what the book is about: a cutter. But Hoban says her inspiration more than that. She wanted to write about someone in a dark place, somewhere almost everyone has been once or twice, and bring them to a stage of healing and love as they explore new connections. Hoban stressed the power of relationships, something that there are many of in the novel.
Hoban also took the time to express how she feels about teenage sexuality and how it is represented. In some instances, and she says these are the prevalent ones, sex among teens is presented as glamorous and consequence-free. Hoban, though, expresses through her reading and through her novel that sexuality should be explored in an emotionally and physically safe way; giving the time for her two characters to get closer and mature before they took that step. And romance isn’t something Hoban has ever shied away from. She said that this is her “first” novel published with her real name, but she had also published other romance novels under a penname in graduate school.
Her road to writing, she says, was a long and dedicated one. Like we’ve discussed and stressed in class, Hoban highly encouraged in writing every day, whether it’s a large amount of time or a short amount of time; just give yourself some opportunity to write and be disciplined. She admitted that you have to be ready for loads of rejection before you find success; she faced a lot of her own.
