Fourteen-year old Sylvia’s having a hard time. She’s way to small for her age, the kids at school pick on her, and her medication’s making her sick. And to top it off, the horse her grandpa sent her isn’t what she expected — in more ways than one.
Made That Way, the standalone sequel to Born That Way, is Susan Ketchen’s second book. Over the next week, the Comox Valley author will sign copies of her new release at Coles, Blue Heron Books and Laughing Oyster Book Shop.
OK, I admit I was horse-crazy as a young girl. Even so, I didn’t expect to really like Made That Way. To my delight, I was wrong. The first few pages drew me right into Sylvia’s world. By the end of the first chapter, I cared about the plucky young teen and the people and animals in her life. And I found it easy to empathize with her challenges and to rejoice in her ultimate successes.
Sylvia’s recently been diagnosed with Turner’s Syndrome, which means that even though she’s 14, she has the body of an eight-year-old. Even though being pint-sized causes problems, Sylvia’s main goal in life is to own a horse. Her grandpa promised to buy her one as soon as she’s as tall as his shoulder. In the meantime, she hangs out at the local stable, learning what she can and waiting to grow.
Then Grandpa calls to say he’s sending a horse now and Sylvia’s elated. But when the horse arrives, there’s definitely something different about it. And only Sylvia suspects the cause.
Although much about Sylvia’s life makes her feel powerless, as she studies the hierarchy of herd dynamics at the stable, she gains insights into navigating the world of human relationships.
Made That Way is a story about growing up, coming to terms with self and others and gaining the emotional tools to deal with the unexpected.
The characters, young and old, human and animal, are believable and likable. The plot is original and has lots of unique twists and turns, and Ketchen’s engaging writing style makes the book an engrossing read. Her wry sense of humour surfaces often.
Ketchen says horses and writing have been passions since she was young. “I think some of the earliest books read to me as a child were about horses. I’ve always loved storytelling and was writing my own stories by the time I was in Grade 2. And, just like Sylvia, my grandpa promised me a horse as soon as my head came to his shoulder.”
Turner’s Syndrome wasn’t part of the initial idea for her first book. “After I’d been writing for a while, I realized Sylvia was unusually short,” Ketchen explains. “So I did some research on the Internet to see what might be causing the problem.” The Internet’s also where Ketchen got her information on the unusual horse Sylvia ends up with.
“A lot of what’s in the book wasn’t part of the initial idea for the books,” Ketchen notes. “I try to let the story in the back of my brain come forward without being too intentional about it. If I plan too much, the writing doesn’t flow. The basic idea was to write a story about a young girl yearning for a horse.”
When Born That Way was published in 2009, Ketchen hadn’t planned on writing a sequel. “I started working on another book, but just couldn’t build up any momentum,” she admits. “Then I started writing about Sylvia again and it just caught fire, so I gave in.”
The same thing happened with the third book in the series, Grows That Way, tentatively scheduled for a fall 2011 release.
Ketchen doesn’t wait for the muse to move her. “If I did, I’d never get any writing done,” she says. “I try to be in my writer’s attic loft by 9 or 10 and work until noon or 1 p.m.” She took about three months to write each of the books and then spent several months rewriting.
Although her books were originally classed as young adult novels, Oolichan Books now calls them family fiction. “Most of my fan mail is from readers age 18 to 60,” says Ketchen. “Family fiction is a relatively new term, but a lot of novels written for adults in the past have featured young protagonists.”
Ketchen was born in Nanaimo and was a marriage and family counsellor for many years. A Comox Valley resident for 20 years, she lives on a small farm with her husband, two horses, two cats and a flock of chickens.
As well as being written by a Comox Valley author, the covers of Born That Way and Made That Way are illustrated by local photographer Isobel Springett. And Ketchen’s website (www.susanketchen.ca) has the best book trailer I’ve ever seen. It features two of her horses and was filmed by another Valley resident, Rita Picard.
Made That Way (169 pages, softcover) is published by Oolichan Books and retails for $12.95.
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Book signings:
March 18 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Coles in the Driftwood Mall;
March 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Blue Heron Books in Comox;
March 26 from 1 to 2 p.m. at Laughing Oyster Book Shop in Courtenay.
