I’ve featured Nikki Shannon Smith’s books before, and I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy of middle grade book STRANDED, due out on September 17, 2024. In STRANDED, readers will find a whirlwind survival story!
Eleven-year-old Ava Adams is looking for something different. The tall Manhattan buildings around her feel like walls closing in. And what if she doesn’t fit in with her city-loving friends or busybody family who think Black folks “don’t do nature?” But in a twist of fate, Ava is shocked to learn that her parents are actually allowing her to stay with her Aunt Raven in the Adirondacks for the summer.
In her Auntie’s simple cabin, living off the land with nature’s beauty filling her senses, the woods feel more like home than Manhattan. As Summer comes to a close and Aunt Raven has to leave for the winter, the dream has to come to an end. Or does it? When Aunt Raven leaves, Ava expects her parents’ truck to arrive any moment. But as the hours go by, the reality sinks in. They’re not coming.
That night, one storm will change everything. When lightning strikes a nearby tree just before it lands on the cabin, the roof and the water tank of Aunt Raven’s cabin are instantly destroyed. With no cell reception and no neighbors for miles, Ava begins to realize what she’s up for. A frozen garden, a diminishing supply of food, an abandoned neighboring farm, and mountains blanketed with snow and ice mean Ava is on her own-literally. And her newly developed survival skills might not be enough. It’s the ultimate test, but this isn’t just about proving something to her parents. It’s about proving it to herself.
In our last interview, you said, “One thing I always try to do with difficult subject matter is include hope and joy.” What is the most challenging and the most rewarding part of this process?
The most challenging part of dealing with difficult subject matter and trying to infuse hope and joy is working through my own feelings about the topic, especially when there are similarities to my situation or current events, or it includes the historic oppression of a group of people—particularly my own. I’m extremely sensitive and empathetic, and I sometimes have to let myself plunge into a deep level of emotional distress to write, but that’s what allows me to be honest and respectful.
Fortunately, I’m always able to counteract that distress by writing moments of hope and joy. Life is never just one thing. Beauty, kindness, love, strength and resilience can be found everywhere if we look for it. I never have to look further than my own family and friends—my own experiences and community. That is what I channel as I add glimmers to my stories.
The most rewarding part of the process is being free to tell the truth—both sides of it—and allowing readers to experience the events and emotions right along with my characters. I love it when a reader tells me about a favorite moment in a book, and it’s clear it’s because they related to my character. Bringing a reader into the journey on an emotional level is what I hope to do when I write. Feeling something while we read is what allows us to fully experience the world we’re visiting. It’s what makes us love books.
Most definitely! STRANDED follows eleven-year-old Ava through the Adirondack mountains. How did you know you wanted to write a story that takes place in the wilderness?
I am Ava in so many ways. I grew up in Oakland, CA, so I’m a city girl and I’m at home in the city, but being outside has always been an important part of my life. I was the girl who played in the mud, and climbed trees, and scaled fences, and rode a Green Machine whenever possible. My family had huge picnics at local lakes and took frequent trips to the beach, so I developed an early love for nature. I always felt free outside. I spent every summer at sleepaway camp for at least a week, and when I was old enough, I washed the dishes at camp to pay for a second week. Whenever I start to feel not quite myself, I know it’s because I need to get outside. I feel my biorhythms change when I’m near water, or when I’m hiking. Nature centers me.
While I was writing, I felt Ava’s excitement as they wove deeper into the Adirondack mountains, and she stuck her arm out of the car window and let it ride the air. I was Ava when she floated on her back in that lake. Writing this book was an opportunity to normalize and validate this deep love of nature in a Black girl. It allowed me to show that we can be all of the elements of ourselves, and that if people love us, they will accept us the way we are. I’m thrilled that I got to depict the multi-faceted lives of Black people. I love that some readers will see themselves in Ava, and that those who don’t will get to know her, and maybe learn from her and live vicariously through her, like I did.
As if all my excitement about this book isn’t enough, STRANDED just made its way into the first Scholastic Book Fairs of the new school year! BEFORE it’s official release date! AND it sold out on the second day at one of the schools! So! Much! Excitement! And so many exclamation points!!!
Oh! And there’s a trailer for the book, too! You can watch it here: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/content/fairs/videos/trailers/15.html
*Gasps!* Scholastic Book Fairs are my favorite! You recently left your day job to pursue writing full time. What has been something you’ve experienced in this process that you didn’t expect?
It has definitely been a time of drastic change for me. I taught elementary school for thirty years, and it was part of my identity. There have been so many unexpected things about the journey into full time writing, I almost don’t know where to start! I didn’t anticipate the emotional roller coaster of redefining oneself. Being a teacher is more than conveying information in a way that allows young people to learn. It’s helping others—taking care of people; it’s putting others first all day, every day, no matter what else is happening in your own life. Teaching is relationships and community, giving and sharing, loving and laughing, and immediate (and constant) feedback about what you’re doing. My students were my extended family, and they gave my work an immediacy—an obvious purpose.
I knew I would miss the children, but I didn’t expect the heaviness of the silence. I didn’t know how lonely being at home all day with my own thoughts and insecurities swirling around in my head would be. I didn’t expect to feel such a sense of loss, because I’m excited about writing full time and all of the opportunities and possibilities that come with that. I struggled initially to walk in the shoes of a full-time writer—there is no feedback most of the time, no financial certainty, nobody smiling at you or thanking you throughout the day. The gratification of sharing and giving is VERY delayed.
On top of that, I was surprised and dismayed by my own lack of discipline in the absence of structure. I wrote a lesson plan for myself and didn’t follow it. I had to learn to be flexible yet hold myself accountable in a different way. I’m constantly telling people, “The biggest problem is that my boss is too nice. She lets me do whatever I want.”
There are also unexpected moments of joy, like mid-week story times, and sing-alongs, and a little girl who played with my toes while I talked. But the most profound and unexpected aspect of leaving my job has been the result of putting my hopes and dreams out into the universe. The power of speaking things into existence is real. I left my job abruptly due to unfortunate circumstances, but the DAY I officially left, opportunities started pouring in. I’ve gotten four book deals and multiple speaking opportunities in only six months. I’ve traveled to places I’ve never been before. I’m meeting and working with wonderful people, making new friends, and making a difference in the lives of young people in a new way. Fear and practicality had kept me from pursuing my dream of being a full-time writer, but the universe drop-kicked me onto the right path, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Thanks for such a realistic and insightful perspective! And so glad for all those opportunities pouring in. What are some of your current projects?
So much of writing is top-secret, isn’t it? I’m really excited about my current projects, but I can’t share most of them yet! I have two more Brown Baby Parade board books releasing in 2025, the first of which is Easter Fun (available for preorder now). I think the youngest readers will love hunting for eggs along with the characters in this book. I can’t wait for my Little Golden Book Biography about Prince to make its way into the world! It’s slated to release in 2026. I’ve been a Prince fan since I was ten years old, and writing this book has been an honor—it’s a passion project, for sure. I’m working with my editor on revisions, and then it will go to the amazing Don Tate for illustrations. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with this! I’m also working on a new picture book idea, and I’ve just finished polishing a middle grade friendship/ghost story after almost a decade! Hopefully, I’ll be able to share the still-secret news by the end of the year. Man, secrets are hard!
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