OK, Madelyn. Here goes:
1. Oh, Naomi, absolutely. Cap had a little crush on Sophie, but she’s quite a bit older than him.
2. Hey, why do I write any book? I’m a writer by profession, and this is what I do for a living. But I always wanted to try writing a “fish out of water” story, and putting a hippie in a regular middle school was the ideal thing.
3. Most authors don’t require what you call “inspiration,” Madelyn. We write because we have something to say, a story to tell. That’s all it takes to start us scribbling. And that’s how it worked with SCHOOLED. I had a story to tell, and I told it.
4. I presume the dead bird was found somewhere on the school grounds. The poor little things are always flying into windows and killing themselves. I didn’t mean to imply that someone killed the bird.
5.&6. Sophie’s Dad was a pretty unreliable person, and not a very good father, even though he probably loved his daughter and meant to be an upright person. It was Cap who bought the bracelet, and told Sophie it was from her father so she wouldn’t feel disappointed. He did it out of kindness and unselfishness.
7. Rain was the person in charge of Garland when Mrs. Donnelly lived there as a little girl. She was always a scary person, very bossy and strict, and Mrs. D. was afraid of her, and remembered that fear even into her adult life.

There. Is that helpful? I hope so. If there’s anything else, Madelyn, you know where to find me. Right here on the website.
Thanks again for your interest in me and my work. I’m glad SCHOOLED went over so well in your class.
Best regards,
—-Gordon Korman—-