A Stick of Fruit Stripe Gum, a guest post by Suzanne Supplee

Josephine Willoughby is part Kevin McCallister (Home Alone) and part Mary Lennox (Secret Garden). And, if I’m being honest, she’s a little bit me, too. Josephine can be bossy and opinionated and dramatic. Mary Lennox calls her nanny a “daughter of pigs.” Kevin calls his mother a “dummy” and says, “Families suck!” But in another set of circumstances—Mary’s parents survive cholera and are more attentive to their daughter or Kevin isn’t provoked by a nasty uncle and a mean older brother—these might’ve been perfectly polite children. Or not. We’ll never know. 

When I first started writing SWEETNESS ALL AROUND, Josephine, my protagonist, just appeared on the page. She had high standards and big aspirations, but then the story dealt her an inciting incident. Josephine’s mother’s business inventory is destroyed in a fire. Poof! Their old life, the pretty life, is gone. 

My father died when I was five. A handful of years later, I lost both grandfathers to cancer. Close family friends died in a car crash. My house was damaged by fire. This sounds like The Young and the Restless, but it was real life. These childhood tragedies were also mixed in with Gilligan’s Island after-school reruns, my dog, Patches, the new blue bike with a banana seat. 

It’s only when Josephine suffers that she begins to notice the suffering of others. 

As a child I began to notice the suffering of others, too. The man at my church who wore a plastic mask to cover one side of his face. The mostly grown children who’d lost both parents in a car accident. Marcia Trimble, the missing Nashville girl, whose freckled image I saw each night on the evening news. 

SWEETNESS is a story about suffering, but mixed in are life’s joys, too: a stick of Fruit Stripe gum; Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo; a new best friend with a truck-sized gap between her front teeth. 

Like Kevin McCallister and Mary Lennox, Josephine is transformed by challenges. I suppose we all are, but even so, there is sweetness in this life.

Meet the author

Suzanne Supplee is the author of the new middle grade novel, Sweetness All Around, and three young adult novels: When Irish Guys Are Smiling (Speak / Penguin), Artichoke’s Heart (Dutton / Penguin), and Somebody Everybody Listens To (Dutton / Penguin). When Suzanne isn’t grading papers or obsessing over her current work-in-progress, she’s playing with her dogs, Birdie and Gus.

You can follow Suzanne on Instagram at suzannesuppleeauthor or on Facebook.

About Sweetness All Around

An indomitable heroine who believes she is destined to find her kidnapped neighbor leads this warm, big-hearted story with irresistible characters and a captivating mystery.

Almost-eleven-year-old Josephine is NOT pleased to be moving into the Happy World trailer park over the summer of 1974. She misses her beautiful bedroom with ballerinas on the wall and her pretty, well-dressed friends. Happy World isn’t happy. It’s dingy and depressing! Nothing like the world that headstrong Josephine wants for herself.

But when Josephine learns that her would-be next door neighbor in Happy World was kidnapped months ago, she develops a begrudging interest in her new home. A kidnapping is exciting—and all signs point to Josephine being meant to find ten-year-old Molly.

Despite her efforts to stay detached, Josephine investigates Molly’s disappearance with help from the eccentric cast of characters living in Happy World. It turns out the rough edges of her community are softer and sweeter than they first seemed. And the unexpected friendships she forms might be more precious than anything she’s ever owned.

In her extraordinary middle grade debut, Suzanne Supplee brings a small Tennessee town and its memorable residents to life. Perfect for daydreamers and unstoppable imaginations. Hand this beautiful, bursting-with-feelings read to fans of Kate DiCamillo’s Raymie Nightingale series.

ISBN-13: 9780823453696
Publisher: Holiday House
Publication date: 10/24/2023
Age Range: 8 – 12 Years

Filed under: Guest Post