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From the Publisher
Author Linda Sue Park on the inspiration and writing process for THE ONE THING YOU’D SAVE
I got the idea for this book maybe fifteen years before it was published. It came out of the writing process itself: When I’m developing a character, I always think about their STUFF—the actual physical objects that are important to them. I wondered if it would be possible to write some kind of story that focused on things, rather than people….
I’d also been wanting to write another collection of sijo (a traditional Korean poetic form) ever since my book Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems) was published in 2007. Sijo is such a fun form, and it deserves to be better known. I decided on a classroom setting as a challenge to myself: Despite having written more than a dozen novels, I’ve never depicted a classroom scene—they terrify me. How can I possibly portray 20 or 25 or 30 characters in the same space and do them all justice!? I admire writers who can pull that off.
I originally intended to write one poem per student: one kid, one thing, one poem. But as I was writing, the kids really came to life for me. They started talking to each other, and the poems began to link and overlap, to become an exchange, a discussion. For me, it’s a great example of how the act of writing itself transforms the initial idea: The writing led me to places I didn’t know the story needed to go.
So I submitted the manuscript, and back it came, rejected. Editors were concerned about the unconventional format: The poems were all linked, but it was too short to be a “novel in verse,” and too long to be a picture book. I put the manuscript away, but I couldn't forget about it. Every so often, I would get it out and tinker with it.
It was finally accepted five years later, and then it took a while to find the right illustrator. I love Robert Sae-Heng’s illustrations, which I think embody the spirit of the book so well, giving us insight into the students without ever depicting them. The coincidental result was that the book came out during a worldwide pandemic, when people had to spend way more time at home than usual. And maybe some of us gained a different perspective on our stuff: the things we surround ourselves with, how we find comfort, what we value. I was often frustrated by how long the book’s journey to publication was…but sometimes things happen for a reason!
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