Welcome Kelly Mangan- Author of Maeve Mulvaney Has Had Enough
Maeve Mulvaney goes from “family raincloud” to Feminist Superhero in this upper middle grade novel perfect for fans of Carrie Firestone, Julie Murphy, and Barbara Dee.
Fourteen-year-old Maeve feels more at home in the pages of her comics and sketchbook than she does in “Nowhereville” (her maybe-not-so-nice nickname for the small Florida town where her family just moved). In the comic-book version of her life, she’s a brave superhero who always bests the bad guys. In reality? Not so much.
When a bully at her new school makes her life miserable over her weight (and a sexist teacher defends him), Maeve isn’t sure what to do. Her mom thinks she should just cheer up, brush it off, and stay positive. But then Maeve hears from other misfit eighth graders who are also being picked on, and she decides that enough is enough.
Drawing inspiration from her comics, Maeve creates a feminist superhero club, hoping she and her new friends can inspire meaningful change in their community. But it turns out, fighting back without becoming the bully yourself is harder than it seems…
This heartfelt and uplifting novel serves as a sweet reminder that heroes are stronger together, that home is where you make it, and that the greatest superpower you have is your voice.
QUESTIONS FROM KIDS
How long does it take to make a book?
My novel took about 8 years, from the time I first started writing it (re-writing it, and then re-writing it again), through the editing process, to finally finding a publisher who liked my story well enough to publish it. Now that I know what I’m doing a bit more, hopefully my next book won’t take quite so long!
How do you make sure your book is interesting?
I start by making a character I think I would’ve related to when I was that age, and then I put them in a MESS OF TROUBLE! When you like a character, you feel invested in what happens to them. I’ve watched shows and movies before where I couldn’t stand the main character, so even though there was exciting stuff happening in the stories, I was kinda like “Meh, I don’t really care.” Make your reader care!
Practical tip: End your chapters in a way that always leaves the reader wanting a little more. Not a full-blown cliff hanger, per se, but you can definitely dangle some unanswered questions over the edge. Or you could end the chapter immediately after a big reveal. Leave the reader going “WHAT?! Now I HAVE to turn the page to find out what happens!”
Why did you want to be an author?
When I was a kid, my family always gathered around my grandparents’ kitchen table and told stories. Funny stories. Sad stories. Outrageous stories. So I guess that story-telling tradition rubbed off on me. It’s the best feeling in the world, though: telling someone a story and making them laugh, or gasp, or cry, or question something they used to think. The very idea that we can make some marks on paper and share our feelings, experiences, and knowledge with other humans? That’s sort of magical when you think about it. I love making art for the exact same reasons.
How do you write so awesome?
Wow. I don’t know if my writing is awesome, but thank you so much for the compliment! Hard work is the true-but-unfun answer.
I like to think of writing stories like testing out a new recipe in the kitchen. A friend said once that first drafts of stories are like assembling the ingredients for baking a cake. You wouldn’t eat a big spoonful of flour and go “Why does my cake taste like poop?” Well, it turns out that second, third, fourth, fifth, and sometimes twelfth drafts of stories can taste a bit like crud too!
“Nope, that cake fell.”
“Nope, that cake isn’t cooked in the middle.”
“Nope, that cake has salt in it instead of sugar.”
“This cake came out better, but it’s lopsided.”
And you just keep working until you get it right!
It also helps having good critique partners and editors who will read your work and go “Hey, this scene doesn’t work for X,Y,Z reasons.” They’re like your story’s taste testers! So you need them to give you their honest thoughts about how your work could be better.
Why is Maeve scared?
Maeve has anxiety, which is a disorder where sometimes your brain gets locked into a loop of obsessively worrying about things. Sometimes they’re real things you’re worried about (like an upcoming test, a job interview, a performance). And sometimes they’re made up or unlikely things (Like, “What if a meteor hits the earth tomorrow?” Or “What if my headache is actually a brain tumor?”).
When you have anxiety, it can be hard to break out of that fear loop. And since you’re walking around all the time in a low-key panic, seemingly small stuff can cause you to have a “fight or flight” response. Sometimes, you can even have what’s called a panic attack, which is like your brain pulling the fire alarm inside your body: Your heart races, you break out into a sweat, you can feel dizzy, or like throwing up, or passing out, or peeing your pants. During a panic attack, your brain tells your body THERE’S AN EMERGENCY– YOU’RE ABOUT TO DIE! Except it’s not true: there is no emergency, and you’re actually fine.
Some people are able to manage anxiety with therapy, meditation, exercise, or other things. And some people need medication to help their brain stop playing those cruel tricks on their bodies. I am one of the people who benefits a lot from medication.
Do you have any pets?
Yes! I have a dog named Banjo (he’s an Australian shepherd mix), a tuxedo cat named Timtam (he’s my sweet old man kitty), and a Maine Coon cat named Oliver (who hates all living beings equally).
Who are the characters?
Maeve Mulvaney is the main character of the book. She loves reading, writing, and drawing comics. She’s fat, bisexual, and neurodivergent.
Her bestie is Daniel, who’s a big reader of everything from comics and SciFi to fantasy and the works of William Shakespeare. Daniel likes to collect interesting words and phrases– especially insults! Daniel is gay.
Frankie dresses lowkey like an anime character, due to her love of anime and manga. She does not take nonsense from anybody, and sometimes her temper gets her in trouble. Frankie is fat, and helps Maeve embrace her fatness without shame. She’s a lesbian.
Cori is the mediator in the friend group, the academic overachiever, the social butterfly, and the one who’s always trying to encourage people to be kinder to each other. She’s straight.
Jamal is the friend who likes to make people laugh. He’s into manga and anime too, but is much more of a gamer than anyone else in the group. He’s somewhat reserved and doesn’t like to rock the boat, but he won’t stand by and let people get hurt either. He’s straight.
What’s the setting of your book?
My book is set in a fictional town outside of Gainesville, Florida. In the story Maeve calls the town “Nowhereville,” and you don’t actually learn the real name of the town until the last page of the book!
Who do you write your stories for?
I write stories for the weird kids who feel like they don’t fit in. Because I was that kid (In a lot of ways, I’m… still kinda that kid??).
QUESTIONS FROM THE EDITORS
How does the theme of trust impact Maeve?
Trust is a funny thing to navigate as a neurodivergent person, and that’s something I’ve tried to address with nuance in my book.
At least for myself, I do tend to believe people and take them at their word (unless they’ve given me a reason not to). So when people behave in a way that’s inconsistent with what they’ve said, or how they’ve presented themselves, it can absolutely throw me for a loop.
Similarly, Maeve can be naive in some respects, and sometimes doesn’t know if people are being genuine or sarcastic. She’s been burned enough that she tends to approach new people and situations with a healthy dose of skepticism. Deep down, though? She really WANTS to believe people are inherently good. She wants to believe there’s an order and a logic to how people behave. And despite her frustrations, she wants to give people a chance to change.
Can you tell us a bit about the adults letting Maeve down in your book?
I really wanted to show a range of ways in which adults can let kids down.
There are some adults in the book (Like Coach Crowder and principal Kirkpatrick) who are straight up authoritarians. Maeve obviously runs afoul of these types, because their primary interest isn’t in protecting and educating kids, it’s in controlling them.
There are other adults (like the school guidance counselor, Mrs. Beaton, and the English teacher, Mrs. Sneep) whose approach is clouded by their personal dogma and biases. They believe they’re helping kids by encouraging them to forgive, forget, and keep quiet in the face of injustice. Unlike the principal, Beaton and Sneep aren’t creating the patriarchal rules or the unfair systems in play at the school. But they are dedicatedly enforcing them.
These are pretty awful ways to let kids down. But I also wanted to explore ways in which loving, conscientious parents can fail to meet the needs of their kids.
In many respects, Maeve’s dad probably gets her the best out of any adult. They have a good relationship and he’s more inclined to take her side in family arguments. But he’s also prone to making jokes when Maeve is upset, and encouraging her to look on the sunny side. Which sometimes Maeve doesn’t mind, but other times, strikes Maeve as a dismissal or minimization of her feelings.
And then there is Maeve’s mom, who also suffers from anxiety, but chooses to deal with it very differently from her daughter. She fixates on positivity, and seems to have an angry, knee-jerk reaction whenever Maeve expresses fears, anxieties, or negativity. She is too focused on wanting her daughter to be better than her, and in doing so, overlooks what her daughter actually needs. She’s always looking for those “teachable moments.” Unfortunately, her heavy-handed approach to her daughter makes Maeve feel constantly unheard, criticized, and condescended to.
What inspired you to write this book?
I wanted to write a book about student activism, but I also wanted to address the issue of toxic positivity in parent-child relationships.
Is there any of you in the main character?
Oh, SO very much. Maeve is, in so many respects, me when I was 14: Angry, anxious, and desperately looking for some way to rectify the injustices of the world. But not knowing where or how to start.
What did you do to feel brave in your own life?
I try to be honest about my missteps and mistakes, which I think takes a kind of bravery. It’s so easy for people to pretend that they came out of the womb with the exact, correct way of thinking. That they’re always right, and have never once believed anything problematic. To me, thinking that way is a refusal to be honest with yourself and others. It also demonstrates an arrogant lack of appreciation for all the people throughout our lives who’ve taught us to be better humans. It can be scary and vulnerable, but I think it’s vitally important to approach creating stories with humility and self-reflection.
Do you think Maeve is trustworthy? Why or why not?
Yes. She is honest to a fault. The way she thinks, feels, and acts tends to make a straight line. She still makes mistakes! But she owns up to her mistakes and expects the people around her to do the same.
How does Maeve hold the adults in her life accountable?
Maeve holds the adults in her life accountable through her irrepressible honesty! Which, frankly, gets her in trouble quite a lot. Sometimes those inside thoughts pop out before she has a time to consider or temper them.
Who if anyone can Maeve rely on?
I think Maeve comes to realize that she can rely on her friends. Even though they may fight and hold her to a higher standard, when the rubber hits the road, her friends won’t let her face the tough stuff alone.
What do you think would be Maeve’s biggest regret?
I think Maeve’s biggest regret is hurting her friends with her classist attitude toward her new home.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING NIMBLEWITLIT FOR OUR ISSUE ON BEING TRUSTWORTHY
You can thank Kelly by checking out her book online, in stores, and by requesting it in your local library!