Author Chat with Cambria Gordon (Trajectory), Plus Giveaway! ~ US ONLY!

Today we are very excited to share an interview with author Cambria Gordon!

Read on to learn more about the author, the book, and a giveaway!

Meet the Author: Cambria Gordon

Cambria Gordon is the author of The Poetry of Secrets, which Ruta Sepetys called an “epic, poetic journey,” and coauthor of the award-winning The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming, winner of the National Green Earth Book Award. Cambria has written for Los Angeles Times Magazine, Boys’ Life, Parent Guide News, and The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles. She lives in LA with her husband and youngest son, and as close as possible to her two adult children, without annoying them.

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About the Book: Trajectory

Perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah and Sharon Cameron, this is the stirring and dramatic story of one young woman who must find a way to overcome her deepest fears in order to unlock the secret that will help America and the Allies to victory as World War II rages on.

Seventeen-year-old Eleanor is nothing like her hero Eleanor Roosevelt. She is timid and all together uncertain that she has much to offer the world. And as World War II rages overseas, Eleanor is consumed with worry for her Jewish relatives in Europe. When a chance encounter proves her to be a one-in-a-generation math whiz–a fact she has worked hard all her life to hide–Eleanor gets recruited by the US Army and entrusted with the ultimate challenge: to fine-tune a top-secret weapon that will help America defeat its enemies in World War II and secure the world’s freedom. This could be her chance to help save her family in Poland.

Soon, she’s swept from the basement of an Ivy League engineering school, to the desert of California, to an Army Air Corps base at Pearl Harbor, and finally she takes to the skies above the South Pacific. But before she can solve this complicated problem, she must learn to unlock a bigger mystery: herself.

Critically acclaimed author of The Poetry of Secrets, Cambria Gordon weaves an extraordinary story of remarkable courage and the will to unearth our deepest secrets, based on previously undiscovered true events.

Goodreads

~Author Chat~

YABC:  What gave you the inspiration to write this book?

I’m a history geek and I love WWII stories. But I realized there haven’t been very many told from the home front. I imagined that people in America, certainly Jewish people, felt helpless in the face of what was going on in Europe to their families. I came across a little-known PBS video, entitled “Top Secret Rosies” about young women who calculated ballistics tables in a secret math lab in the basement of University of Pennsylvania. I thought, what if one of the recruits is Jewish and desperately wants to help her cousins in Poland, but can’t let anyone know she’s a math whiz because of a family tragedy that happened when she was young? The only way she’ll accept the job is if no one finds out.

YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?

Sky was my favorite character to write dialogue for. He’s kind of a puppy dog, but also a wolf when he needs to be. He supports Eleanor and is ahead of his time in terms of not feeling threatened by a smart woman. Then, when we find out his secret, we doubly realize how cool he is.

YABC: Which came first, the title or the novel?

The novel came first, but I did have a working title, The Numbers Girl. Scholastic thought that was kind of general and wanted something more adventurous to reflect the risk Eleanor goes through. I love the title we chose. Trajectory has two meanings. The path your life can take and the path of a ballistic as it flies through the air.

YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?

This is a spoiler alert, dear Readers. Feel free to skip this question. The scene when Eleanor is in the B-17 and getting attacked by the Japanese fighter planes is something I’m pretty proud of. I’ve never been in combat and I know no one living who has. I watched a re-release of the film, “Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress”, which William Wyler directed in 1944. I’m friends with his grandson and he got me a copy. In documentary style, Wyler and his camera crew accompanied the Memphis Belle aircraft on their bomber missions and experienced the same dangers. I think the scene in the book turned out quite believable and realistic. I hope readers feel the fear Eleanor feels and also sees how scary war can be and the high price our soldiers paid to defend America’s freedom.

YABC:  What research did you do to write this book?

I’m terrible at math! I only went as far as Algebra II. I consulted with phD candidates and other mathematicians for the math and physics portions. I looked through high school yearbooks of family friends who grew up in Philadelphia in the 1940’s. I interviewed the head of the Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor and spoke to a WWII buff about the Norden bombsight. I also drove out to the Mojave desert and combed through the archives at Edwards Air Force Bace (formerly Muroc).

YABC: What’s a book you’ve recently read and loved?

I just read Sharon Cameron’s Artifice.  It’s about art forgery in Holland during WWII. I loved how she uses color as metaphor throughout the book. And Cameron throws everything at her main character. With each chapter, you wonder how will she ever get out of this predicament. It’s a tense page-turner and there’s a great love story as well.

YABC:   What’s up next for you?

I’m working on a multi-generational story that connects the Holocaust to the events of October 7^th in Los Angeles. I can’t say more because it’s not official yet. But I’m excited to bring two little-known real Christian heroes to light, recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for their work in saving Jewish lives during WWII.

YABC:   Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?

The scene where the PCS girls are hanging out at the frat house and the conversation turns racist. Getting into the mindset of hate that Marjorie must have felt toward Alyce, a Black girl and then later, toward Eleanor, a Jewish girl was painful for me. I wanted that moment to feel like a scene out of “Mean Girls” only where someone actually speaks up on behalf of the one being bullied. That happened to me when I was in high school and no one stood up for me. I guess Eleanor became my alter-ego. It’s ironic because she’s shy and I never was. But when you’re a victim, it’s hard to find your power in the moment.

YABC:      What would you say is your superpower?

I can name any Taylor Swift song from the first few bars.

YABC:   What advice do you have for new writers? 

Don’t give up hope! I published my first historical fiction YA when I was in my fifties! Be like Eleanor and find that inner strength to follow your passion.

Title: Trajectory

Author: Cambria Gordon

Release Date: April 2, 2024

Publisher: Scholastic

ISBN-10: 1338853821

ISBN-13: 9781338853827

Genre:

Young Adult Fiction / Historical / Holocaust

Young Adult Fiction / Historical / Military & Wars

Young Adult Fiction / Historical / United States / 20th Century

Age Range: 12 And Up

*Giveaway Details*

Five (5) winners will receive an ARC copy of Trajectory (Cambria Gordon) ~ US Only!

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