Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Enid Langbert (All Shook Up)!
Meet the Author: Enid Langbert
Enid Wolfe Langbert was not as adventurous as her protagonist, Paula, in high school, but she made up for it in the sixties by marching, sitting in, and raging against segregation and the war while, in her spare time, raising three children. Eventually, she went to law school. She loved zealously advocating for her clients as an attorney, whether they deserved it or not, until her husband became ill and she closed her practice to care for him. After he passed, she traveled widely and enrolled in an English literature master’s program. She is now writing her thesis, tracing the influence of James Joyce’s legal issues on his writing of Finnegans Wake—a topic about which she is unambiguously passionate. Enid lives in New York City.
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About the Book: All Shook Up
Being fourteen is especially hard in 1956, when the world is changing around you. Honor student Paula Levy was born into a family of historical victims: her mother’s youth was lost in the Depression and her father’s was destroyed in the Holocaust, an as-yet-unnamed event about which no one speaks. But Paula has heard the new music taking hold of the nation—rock and roll—and it has given her hope. And she has two friends to get her through life’s ups and downs: Holden Caulfield, hero of Catcher in the Rye, who shares her view of the world, and Barbara, a “cool” girl in her high school who unexpectedly shares Paula’s view of Holden.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in your book?
My favorite character is Barbara. I wish I had known her when I was in high school.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
I am very proud of the final scene in the police station. I love that Paula’s father knew Barbara’s father when he played at jazz clubs in Berlin. And I love when his protective shell is final cracked and he expresses real feelings.
YABC: If you could only write one genre for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
This is such a hard question. I wish I could write mysteries, since I read them assiduously. But the real book which is begging me to write is raising my childfren in a spiritual community.
YABC: How do you keep your ‘voice’ true to the age category you are writing within?
I am not sure about this. I could usually hear Paul’s voice when I was writing. I know her so well.
YABC: What is your favorite snack when writing?
Since I am always on a diet, I have to say I love it when I can have no snack. I drink a lot of coffee and water, obviously.
YABC: What’s your least favorite word or expression and why?
I recently went to a doctor whose assistant began every third sentence, “At your age.” I hated that. It was so demeaning. I think it is the last bigoted description that people feel free to use.
YABC: What do you do when you procrastinate?
Everything else. A friend of mine, a writer, once said, “There are many bathrooms with clean mortar between the tiles because a writer was avoiding writing.” I do not do that. I just fill my mind with other thoughts.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I love the idea of talking about my book, starting another book, and finishing my thesis on Finnegans Wake.
YABC: What is your favorite holiday or tradition and why?
When my children were little, I loved Halloween. We lived in the country, and I made them costumes. I loved seeing little bands of ghosts and witches roaming the green hills. I like Purim because I have written Purim plays for my synagogue. I guess I love anything that makes me creative and brings my family together.
YABC: Is there anything that you would like to add?
“At my age”, I am grateful to have finally achieved an ambition I have had since I was a little girl.
Title: All Shook Up
Author: Enid Langbert
Release Date: September 10, 2024
Publisher: SparkPress
Genre: Young Adult
Age Range: 9-12
