Q&A With Yvette Clark!
Author of our March Book Pick: The House Swap
Hi Yvette! The House Swap is a super fun and relatable story that immediately grabbed hold of us. What was the inspiration behind this book?
Thank you! I read an article about a family with three kids from New York City who swapped houses with families all over the world for their vacations. They had stayed in houses in Rome, Rio, and Sydney and even took care of the other families’ pets! I’m not sure I would like to have people I don’t know staying in my house, and my cat definitely wouldn’t like it, but it works perfectly for the story.
Allie and Sage were such fantastic characters to follow! Which of them do you see yourself in the most?
I see some of myself in both girls, but I am probably more similar to Allie. Like her, I grew up in a cottage in a small village in the English countryside. I would love to have lived near the beach in sunny California like Sage. I’m also quite impatient, like Allie!
Did you keep a diary when you were younger, and if so, where did you hide it?
Yes. I used to hide it in different places in my bedroom—behind books, in my sock drawer, and under my bed. Sometimes I’d forget where I’d hidden it! I wish I’d kept my diaries from when I was a kid. It would be fun to read them now.
Which scene from the book was your favorite to write?
I loved writing the scene where the girls meet each other for the first time. In the earlier chapters of the book, we see each girl living her everyday life on opposite sides of the world—Allie bickering with her siblings and taking fingerprints, and Sage worrying about her parents and collecting crystals. Little do they know they are about to meet and make such a big difference in each other’s lives. It was fun to get them together at last.
What books did you pick up at a young age that turned you into a lifelong reader?
I was always reading! “Just one more chapter,” was my nightly refrain when my parents came in to tell me it was time to turn out the light. My favorite author was Judy Blume. I think I have read every book she’s ever written; in fact, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is what first made me want to live in New York City! Other favorites were Matilda by Roald Dahl, The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton, and Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.
