[Allie]

Mr. Gordon, holy smokes. This is me just finding out (at the age of 28!) that this forum existed after googling on a whim to see if there was a way to send you a fan letter. I’ve loved your work since I read Schooled and No More Dead Dogs back in high school (I was homeschooled myself—though not by hippies!—so Schooled was especially funny to me). As an adult I came by a copy of A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag and credit it with my survival during an especially tough semester. 

Anyway, my 16-year-old sister tested positive for COVID this week and was forced to quarantine, and she was so bored I grabbed Garbage Bag off my shelf and just read her three straight chapters from the doorway. I really wish you could have heard how hard we were both laughing. She in particular was losing it from 2 sentences in and then nonstop throughout. Probably helps that both of us are Long Islanders so all the place names are familiar to us (great, his mother teaches in Massapequa!) 

I have the extra enjoyment of remembering enough of the plot to appreciate the slow build (this girl’s not going to know what hit her when she finds out that master poet Gavin Gunhold is deceased). I have YA novel-writing ambitions myself—currently working on expanding my master’s thesis, which is a YA story—so I guess I just wondered if you had any advice for making something that funny. If it’s something you just have to be born with, that’s fine, I totally understand. 

I also have to ask a question I’ve wondered about for years, viz. whether you’re a fan of P.G. Wodehouse. Getting real Leave it to Psmith vibes from Jardine’s dread of his uncle’s fish-gutting plant. 

With love and laughter,

Allie A.

[Gordon Korman]

Hi, Allie,

See? I have a tough day at the keyboard, and then along comes your letter to make it all worthwhile again!

Thanks so much for your long-lasting support for my work and, especially, for Jardine. The picture of you reading from a safe distance to your sister is one I won't forget in a hurry. And all that laughter is just what I need to hear! I hope she's well on the road to recovery by this time. Let me know if laughter really is the best medicine.

Re: humor. I sort of believe that people are either funny or they're not. I think it's the ability to find the funny stuff that really provides the insight. If you don't see it, then you can't bring it out in your story. And yes, I admit to having been at one time a fan of Jeeves. Who could resist?

Thanks again, Allie. Good luck with your own writing.                      -----Gordon Korman-----