Happy Friday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for IT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY! I’m so excited because today I have an interview with Sydney Dunlap to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I’m so excited to for you to find out more about it!
It Happened on Saturday by Sydney Dunlap Published on February 21, 2023 by Jolly Fish Press
Genres: Contemporary, Middle Grade
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram
Thirteen-year-old Julia would much rather work with horses at the rescue barn than worry about things like dating and makeup. But when her BFF meets a boy at camp, Julia’s determined not to get left behind. After a makeover from her older sister, she posts a picture of herself online and gets a comment from Tyler—a seemingly nice kid who lives across town. As they DM more and more, Julia’s sure that Tyler understands her in a way her family never has. Even better, their relationship earns her tons of attention at school.
Then Julia finds out Tyler’s true plan, and her world is turned upside down. She fiercely guards her secret, but could her silence allow her friends to fall into the same trap?
In this timely, heartfelt debut, author Sydney Dunlap tells a story of a middle-school girl who narrowly escapes becoming a victim of human trafficking and must find her way toward hope and healing after this traumatic event.
Hi! Thanks so much for having me! I’m very excited to be here!
What would you do if you spent the day with Julia? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?
If I spent the day with Julia, we’d start at the barn. It would be so much fun to hang out with her and the horses, grooming and riding them together. If it was during the fall carnival, we’d go there next and have fun getting cupcakes from Sprinkles and trying to win prizes at the game booths. And maybe we’d go on some of the less intense rides. I’d love to split the veggie pot stickers with her at Maximilian Place. If there was time we could go to Putt-Putt Around, but definitely NOT to Buckley’s Haunted Manor. Those places terrify me!
If Julia were to hang out with other fictional characters, who would they be and why?
I could see her being friends with Dan Gemeinhart’s Coyote of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, because they are both introspective and love animals, and also Noa Nimrodi’s Shai, of Not So Shy, for the same reasons.
If there was one fictional place you could travel to for a day, where would it be and why?
I would go to the amazing, magical world created in Heroes of Havensong, by Megan Reyes, so I could ride a dragon. I would not go during the war, though.
If you buried a time capsule with three items inside, what three items would you choose and why?
I think I would put in a favorite family photo, an old cell phone (so anyone from the future could see what they used to be like) and one of the author copies of my book!
What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?
These are all such interesting questions! While I was drafting the book, I researched how you can make a sound that will get an alligator to swim over to you. I originally had a scene early on where Julia and her cousin are down at a lake in Florida, and her cousin calls an alligator to swim over toward them. (They are safely on the dock.) This scene was loosely based on a memory from my childhood, but I ended up cutting the first forty pages, that included the family’s trip to Florida, so that research didn’t make it in.
What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from It Happened on Saturday?
My favorite quote is:
“Courage doesn’t mean you aren’t afraid. It means you don’t let the fear stop you.”
About Sydney Dunlap
Sydney Dunlap is a former elementary school teacher who has worked with at-risk youth in a variety of settings, and she enjoys reading and writing heartfelt, hopeful fiction that expands young readers’ awareness of tough topics. She is a published poet and has also written for a newspaper. A lifelong animal lover, Sydney lives with her family in a home where the dogs and cats outnumber the people.
What do you think about It Happened on Saturday? Have you added it to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!
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