Margaret Willey

One of the highlights of a quiet January was spending an afternoon at the Ottawa County Juvenile Detention Center, the facility that I used as the setting for my novel. The experience was, from beginning to end, almost unbearably meaningful. 30 kids at the JVC had read the novel and had questions for me about plotting and characters. Most of the questions were WHY questions; WHY did I write Nate's journal in the language I chose; WHY did I make Renata an artist. It was a perfect opportunity to talk about decision-making in writing. We talked a lot about the illustrations. At the end of my presentation, each student gave me a thank you note in the shape of a crow. A few girls lingered at the end of the afternoon, wanting their picture taken with me. They were just girls. They were just kids. My heart sang with gratitude for the rest of the day. Special thanks to Carmen Dahlhoff for all her good work to make this happen. Read More 

Four Secrets mentioned as a Best Book Bet for November by blogger S. E. Toon.

"Secrets are fragile things, hard to keep and promises even easier to break. As the bullied become the bully each girl's friendship with the other is tested in this honest story of the complexity of emotions and the repercussions of one's actions. This is one book that addresses bullying without the reader feeling that they are being preached at."

I appreciate this clarification because S. E. Toon is right; my book does not preach about bullying. Rather it celebrates the trial by fire that bullying brings to the innocent and celebrates the heroic teenager who must rise above cruelty and ignorance. Wow, I am sounding like Nate tonight.

To check out this and other recommendations on this blog click here
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"For older young readers, ages 12 through 18, there’s Four Secrets by Margaret Willey ($$17.95 hardcover and $12.95 ebook, Carolrhoda Lab, a division of Lerner Publishing Group) that tells the story of Katy, Nate, and Renata, three teens who decide to rescue Renata from being bullied every day by a group of older boys and, in particular, the school’s biggest bully. Things go awry and they end up in juvenile detention and the question is whether they will keep their secrets and whether a social worker will discover the truth behind their silences. For any young person experiencing bullying or wanting to intercede for a friend, this will prove a very compelling story."

Read all of Alan Caruba's recommendations hereRead More 

Part of the warm welcome for my book. Who knew FOUR SECRETS would lead to such striking centerpieces?

"Ah, the crows...crows symbolize bad luck, Mrs. Shield. I have had some very bad luck lately."--Renata Le Cortez

But it was VERY GOOD LUCK luck for me to be invited to give my first presentation about writing 4 Secrets to a fine group of Michigan school librarians and media educators.

Special thanks to Past MAME President Cyndi Phillip and Decorations Diva Dee Gwaltney.  Read More 

School librarians--the best and warmest and most learned audience a children's author could hope for. FOUR SECRETS warmly received. Much concern among librarians about bullying. Photo courtesy of Shelley Lazarus.

Last week Publishers Weekly ran a terrific article on the importance of BOOKS for helping kids understand and survive bullying, and also sites that encourage them to intervene when they see bullying in their schools. The article features new sources and materials on bullying--including picture books, anthologies, websites--and recommends several new novels, including FOUR SECRETS, and includes a quote from me about my daughter's nightmarish experience with a group of stupid older boys--the seed of the novel and the source of its tone of urgency and sorrow.

Here is the quote:

"Similarly, author Margaret Willey recalled her daughter’s ordeal with bullying in high school to write Four Secrets (Carolrhoda Lab, Oct.), about friends who hatch a revenge plot against a bully that goes horribly wrong. “I still remember vividly the day she tearfully told me, ‘Something really bad is happening to me at school,’ Willey said via e-mail. “I knew that once she had recovered from the experience, I would write about that ‘something bad,’ and about her brave and loyal friends, who basically came to her rescue and who are still her friends today. I hope that my novel will be read as a tribute to the courage and stamina of bullied teens everywhere.”


The article is also available on the Be A Star Alliance website here, but the PW version includes lots of book covers and many helpful anti-bullying links (but you need to be a subscriber).  Read More 

This was not just another blog review for me. This one deeply moved me because the book so deeply moved the blogger. It's from Feathered Quill.

"In this amazing YA novel, not only has the author gone in-depth on this subject, but does so by offering a mysterious plot, fantastic characters, and a wealth of emotions that will truly leave the reader with something to think about!...(T)he writing is remarkable, and being able to spotlight this very dangerous problem while still weaving an unforgettable plot, shows that this is one author with a true gift! Quill Says: Buy this! Now!"

Read the full review here Read More 

Later in the fall I will be speaking in several Chicago schools about FOUR SECRETS and my thoughts about the social problem of bullying in schools. Tonight I am wondering if there is anything to be said about bullying that hasn't already been said.

Do students really need to hear another adult tell them how much pain is inflicted by the mundane cruelties of the modern high school?

Aren't the very terms--bully, bullying, bullied--starting to have the empty ring of cliche for many teenagers?

I want to use my book as an example of how an episode of bullying cracks the surface of a life and takes a child into a place of psychological trauma. It requires courage, stamina, will and resolve to just GO to school when you are being bullied. Standing up to bullies calls for heroism and self-awareness. The self-awareness is what can turn the experience into art--the response of the artist, writer, musician, dancer, athlete--some form of action and creation to counteract the helplessness that the victims of bullying feel.

Art is connection. Counteract bullying with ART. Words, colors, shapes, sounds, movement, spirit. Push back. Keep track. Guard your unique and precious souls by telling the truth of what is happening to you.

More thoughts to come.

THE BULLY PROJECT: A phenomenal site about bully prevention HERE Read More 

On the official publication date, Oct. 1, this great news!

"...Willey's story masterfully teases out information until the final pages--and the ultimate revelations are well worth the TORTURE!"
--Booklist, starred review

This is Kelly Oom, who came to my book signing, and who has worked for years with Juvenile Offenders in the Grand Haven area. She was one of several social workers who inspired me to create Greta Shield and to keep 4 Secrets (and my scenes of juvenile detention) authentic and believable. Plus they all inspired me to make Greta Shield a social worker who WORKS TOO HARD FOR KIDS IN TROUBLE.

Who has a problem with that??? Read More