Happy Thursday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for THE PEOPLE WE CHOOSE! I’m so excited because today I have an interview with Katelyn Detweiler to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I’m so excited to for you to find out more about it!
The People We Choose by Katelyn Detweiler Published on May 4, 2021 by Holiday House
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Pages: 304
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Calliope Silversmith has always had just two friends in her small Pennsylvania town, Ginger and Noah, and she's fine with that. She's never wanted anything more than her best friends, her moms, their house in the woods, and their family-run yoga studio--except maybe knowing who her sperm donor is. Her curiosity has been building for years, and she can finally find out this summer when she turns eighteen.
Then Max and his family move into the house across the woods from Calliope, and she immediately feels a special connection with her new neighbor, one that feels different than just friendship. The stability of her longtime trio wavers over the next few weeks as she and Max start to spend more time together.
But when Calliope makes contact with her sperm donor she learns a surprising truth: her donor is Max's father. How is this even possible?
As she and Max struggle to redefine their friendship now that they know they’re half-siblings, Calliope realizes she has much to gain by recognizing and accepting that family is both the one she has been born into, and the one she chooses to make.
What would you do if you spent the day with Calliope, Ginger, Noah, and Max? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?
I’d want to get lost in their woods, spend a day in their summer-soaked world—picnic by the bright green pond, eating delicious baked goods courtesy of Mimmy and drinking some of Noah’s ginger-and-lime infused tea, climb the mountain to watch the sunset over Green Woods, sit by the fire in Calliope’s yard listening to her favorite owl, marveling at the fireflies and the moon and the infinite amount of stars.
If Calliope, Ginger, Noah, and Max were to hang out with characters from other books, who would they be and why?
It’s actually kind of hard to picture, because Calliope and Ginger and Noah are so used to being a trio, they’re terrible at reaching out beyond that bubble. Max is definitely the most social of the group, and I think he could get alone with pretty much anyone, as long as they’re kind and creative and share his affinity for quality baked goods.
If there was one fictional place you could travel to for a day, where would it be and why?
*TW for HP Mention* View Spoiler »These days, I’d much rather go to a sleepy, quaint, everybody-knows-your-name kind of seaside town from a romance novel/Hallmark movie, thank you!
If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be and what would you talk about?
To be perfectly honest, as a literary agent I’m hanging out with SO MANY CHARACTERS every week—every day, really!—that I love too many fictional people to ever pick just one.
If you buried a time capsule with three items inside, what three items would you choose and why?
A copy of my first book, IMMACULATE, to make sure it stands the test of time. One of my wedding save-the-dates, which was based on a screenshot I took of my Tinder match with my now husband. (Not creepy at all, right?!) The battered and beloved copy of WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD that we’ve read to my son every night pretty much since the day he was born, just to keep it extra safe. (And so he can open it up a few decades down the road and sing it to his own kids!)
What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?
I spent a long time taking a deep dive into the kinds of owls that might live in Calliope’s woods, even though the owl only appears for a few late-night hoots.
What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from The People We Choose?
I would have to say the line that sparked the idea for the title, especially because the title was a very long time in the making, and I was *desperate* to find the right words, something that spoke to the heart of the novel:
“Family. Not just the family we’re born into, a random collection of chance and odds and good old-fashioned luck. But the family we create. The people we choose for ourselves. Our people. That family—it really is everything.”
About Katelyn Detweiler
Katelyn Detweiler was born and raised in a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, living in a centuries-old farmhouse surrounded by fields and woods. She spent the vast majority of childhood with her nose in a book or creating make-believe worlds with friends, daydreaming about how she could turn those interests into an actual paying career. After graduating from Penn State University with a B.A. in English Literature, emphasis in Creative Writing and Women’s Studies, she packed her bags and made the move to New York City, determined to break into the world of publishing. She worked for two years in the marketing department of Macmillan Children’s Group before moving in 2010 to the agency side of the business at Jill Grinberg Literary, where she is currently a literary agent representing books for all ages and across all genres.
Katelyn lives in a cozy Brooklyn apartment with her husband Danny and her son Alfie, surrounded by stacks of books and records and diapers. When she’s not reading or writing or taking care of a tiny human, Katelyn enjoys yoga, fancy beverages, and road trips. She frequently treks back to her hometown in Pennsylvania, a lovely green escape from life in the city, and her favorite place to write.
What do you think about The People We Choose? Have you added it to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!
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