On the Right Track–Hannah Barnaby Guest Post

I know I’m on the right track with a project when I hear a song on the radio and think, “My character

would love this song.” It means I’ve gotten to know the cast well enough to tell their stories without second‐guessing myself or wondering what should happen next.

Every chapter title in Some of the Parts is also a song title, and almost all of those are songs that I listened to while I was writing the book. So you could, in theory, line them all up and listen to them as a soundtrack while you read. But there are a lot of songs that I love and which capture the mood of the story and—for one reason or another—didn’t make it into the book itself. Here are a few favorites.

“Cigarette Daydreams” by Cage the Elephant

This song is all about searching for answers and being left behind, and there’s a sweetness to it that just breaks my heart every time. It feels like a song that Chase would play for Tallie on the rare occasion he can’t think of what to say or how to help her.

“Houdini” by Foster the People

This one is a pretty obvious choice based on title alone—Chase’s Houdini obsession is part of the first conversation he and Tallie have, and pops up throughout the entire novel. But this song also has a great push‐and‐pull between wanting to stand up for yourself and wanting to disappear. A contradiction that both Tallie and Chase can totally understand.

“Prison Girls” by Neko Case

There’s an epic quality to this song, and the lyrics read like the words of a girl who’s barely holding on to reality. The first draft of SOTP was much darker than the final version—Tallie was sick and getting worse, experiencing hallucinations and actually seeing and talking to Nate. I’m much happier with the story now, but it was really fun writing scenes where Tallie went off the rails.

“Stay Gold” by First Aid Kit

This one is all about a journey with an uncertain end. “What if to love and be love’s not enough? What if I fall and can’t bear to get up?” These are real questions for Tallie, and for anyone who has struggled with depression. But the best thing about this song is that it’s not “me” or “I”—it’s “we,” which reminds me that we’re never alone if we don’t want to be. (Side note: my daughter loves to sing this song and substitute the word “potato” for “stay gold.” Try it. It’s fun.)

“Blister in the Sun” by Violent Femmes

This one’s for Mel, because my high school friend—let’s call her Frida—who inspired Mel’s character loved Violent Femmes (and probably still does). Frida was fierce and troubled and creative, and remembering our adventures while I was writing Tallie and Mel’s was a whole lot of fun. It was important to me that Tallie have a friend who could help her forget herself once a while, because that’s what Frida did for me. 

 

For fans of Love Letters to the Dead and I’ll Give You the Sun comes a heartrending story of a teen who sets out on an unusual quest. 

For months, Tallie McGovern has been coping with the death of her older brother the only way she knows how: by smiling bravely and pretending that she’s okay. She’s managed to fool her friends, her parents, and her teachers, yet she can’t even say his name out loud: “N—” is as far as she can go. Then Tallie comes across a letter in the mail, and it only takes two words to crack the careful façade she’s built up:

ORGAN DONOR. 
Two words that had apparently been checked off on her brother’s driver’s license; two words that her parents knew about—and never revealed to her. All at once, everything Tallie thought she understood about her brother’s death feels like a lie. And although a part of her knows he’s gone forever, another part of her wonders if finding the letter might be a sign. That if she can just track down the people on the other end of those two words, it might somehow bring him back.

Hannah Barnaby’s deeply moving novel asks questions there are no easy answers to as it follows a family struggling to pick up the pieces, and a girl determined to find the brother she wasn’t ready to let go of.

 

Hannah Barnaby has worked as a children’s book editor, a bookseller, and a teacher of writing for children and young adults. She holds an MA in children’s literature from Simmons College and an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College. Her first novel, Wonder Show, was a William C. Morris nominee. Hannah lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her family.

 

 

 

Some of the Parts

By: Hannah Barnaby

Release Date: February 16, 2016 

 

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One winner will receive a signed copy of Some of the Parts, plus a necklace inspired by the book! US only. Entering is simple, just fill out the entry form below. 

 

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