In this unique writing guide, Ruta Sepetys shares insight into different parts of writing craft, such as perspective, voice, setting, and conflict. She covers so many elements of writing that this feels comprehensive in that sense, but the majority of the book involves Sepetys's personal stories, so the actual writing advice is fairly basic. Still, I found the stories entertaining, and I enjoyed the memoir element. I also liked the unusual writing prompts, which typically presented interesting facts and then left you hanging, telling you to research or imagine more and write a story based on it.

I liked the emphasis on mining your own experience to develop stories, especially since that has been such a huge part of my life. However, the author's experiences are so dramatic, quirky, and unusual that people can easily think that this doesn't apply to them, since they haven't had such a fascinating life. I wish the author had made it clearer that you don't need to have a dramatic, unconventional, unusual life full of unique opportunities in order to write well or discover great writing ideas.

I feel especially strongly about this because this is young adult nonfiction. It makes marketing sense for this to be YA, since the author writes YA novels, but the vast majority of the stories and life reflections Sepetys shares are from her adult life. There's some good stuff about her childhood and teenage years, but she didn't do enough to direct this book to people who haven't had adult experiences yet. If someone is twenty-five and building their career after college, they'll have way more ability to connect to this than someone who is still in high school, reading about a world they're not in. I know that I would have enjoyed the stories in high school, but not as much as I did now, and I would have felt frustrated that so little of this had to do with my current stage of life.

I loved this book! Sepetys approaches the craft of writing with a new lens, giving would be writers glimpses of her life through story. She provides instruction on craft, writing prompts, and research prompts. Each chapter ends with a recap that highlights the most important points. I borrowed a digital copy from my library, but I value this book enough to purchase a copy and add it to my collection of books on writing. It will sit on the shelf among the likes of Bird by Bird and Writing Down the Bones.

A writing teacher's gold mine. Will be returning to this as a writer, a teacher, and a writing teacher.

Show, don’t tell; write what you know; etc, etc.
I haven’t read Ruta Sepetys’s fiction but she seems like she can tell a good story. That said, this wasn’t quite the right book for me. This is an intro to writing book, but I also found myself vehemently disagreeing with her at times. On the other hand, I like that Sepetys isn’t uppity or full of herself despite her status as a bestselling author; she genuinely seems to like talking about writing.

This is a writer must read. So much rich advice in these pages that I can’t wait to apply to my process.