by Andrea White
“That’s why it’s so important that a bunch of idiots using dart guns don’t take us all out,” Don G. said. “And why it’s crucial that minimized kids who don’t know how to act don’t divert us from learning all we can about the insect world.”
Zert could feel Don G.’s eyes on him. “I heard about the trick the kids played on you. They were wrong,” he said. “But when you, Zert, came here and acted as if Rosies aren’t as good as BIGs, you were insulting a proud people. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” Zert said.
“I was at fault too.” Don G. winced. “This last night has been painful for me. I’ve been so focused on survival that I’ve forgotten our larger mission. Dr. Rosario is right. I signed on to help others, even bone-headed teenagers.”
Zert nodded. That afternoon when Cribbie was at the door, he had opened it and maybe exposed Chub to Superpox. He’d never know if that’s what happened or not. But he’d open the door again to try to help Cribbie. He couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t.
“As you know, Jack, the vote was unanimous tonight,” Don G. was saying out of the side of his mouth. “I thought nothing could sway me to vote for Zert, but I did.”
“Thank you,” Zert said quietly.
“You—the newcomer—have helped save our community, Zert. I would never have guessed you would be capable of that. But you’ve shown us a few things,” Don G. said. “And if you hadn’t rescued Dr. Rosario, there’s no telling what could have happened to us. I don’t like being wrong, but I’ve had to face the fact that I’ve been wrong about you.”
Jack said, “We’re all wrong sometimes, Don G.” When his father started cracking his knuckles, Zert guessed that he was thinking about Uncle Marin.
“Dart guns?” his father said. “I can’t believe my brother-in-law would ever be so cruel as to turn hunting human beings into a sport.”
Zert imagined his head on a plaque on a wall. Here’s my trophy. It’s my nephew, Zert. I identified him by his freckles. He was no fan of Uncle Marin, but he doubted that his uncle wanted a hunter to bag him either.
“I think Marin hatched a scheme to make money, and then it got out of his control,” Jack said.
“I think so too,” Zert said grudgingly. “Although what he did was bad enough.”
“Your poor mother would be horrified,” his father agreed.
“We should get going,” Don G. said abruptly. He turned away and started heading in the direction of the crack in the cave wall marked by arrows and lit up with firefly essence.
“Sure,” Zert said.
“Thanks, Don G., for showing us this,” his father was saying as he walked beside Don G. toward the exit.
“If we had more time, there’s actually a lot more to see. Now that we are close to their size, insects are teaching us how to fly, to walk on water, to hang on webs, and to climb walls. We are unlocking their secrets so fast, it’s scary,” Don G. said.
Zert had a hunch. “Are you a scientist?”
“MacArthur Fellow. Double PhD. If you had studied zoology, you’d know my name,” Don G. said.
“Really?” Zert said.
“We have lots of scientists here. Artica Chang is a mechanical engineer. Bear Nelson is a cardiologist,” Don G. said.
“Mary Kay Casey is an entomologist,” his father said.
“Isn’t that someone who studies insects?” Zert asked.
Don G. nodded.
No wonder his teacher’s eyes lit up when she talked about bugs. That reminds me. Zert turned to Don G. “I’ve got five roaches, three beetles, and six doodlebugs in my corral by our cave. While we’re gone, would you please take care of my herd?”
Don G. squinted in the dim light as he nodded at Zert. “Spoken like a true Rosie,” he said. Without more, Don G. passed through the curtain of ivy to the outside.
Zert followed him through the hidden passage in the cliff.
The sun was shining brightly now. Light and shadow quilted the waterfall cascading down Pancake Rock. A bird as large as an eagle flew overhead. But its gray wings looked soft, and its head was light green. He adjusted for his size. The flying creature was a moth.
A tumbleweed of thistles rolled by, and for no reason, Zert thought of Dr. Brown’s strange ink drawing and the way its wheels within wheels had started spinning.
Worlds within worlds. Paradise. Rosieland. Rocky Mountain National Park. The North American continent. Planet Earth. The universe. But he wasn’t alone.
As the tumbleweed floated away, he linked arms with his father. Together, they started down the snail trail shimmering in the light of dawn.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wrote this book twenty years ago. So many people have read it during the years: Michael and Daniel Zilkha, Fred Leebron, Lois Stark, Franci Neely, Kim Morris, Melissa Fordyce, Michelle Cunningham, Laura Tolle, Lois Stark, Andy and Elena Marks, Ellen Susman, Lisa and Alia Eads, Claire, Georgiana and Craig Smyser, Dr. Gail Gross, Dr. Roberta Ness, an entire class at the Fay School, my daughter and son Elena and Will White, my niece Kaitlin Oliver, Molly Bordoff, and Shamsa and Salima Mangalji, to name just a few. I went about fifteen years without rereading the draft, but Stephen White, my youngest son, always said it was my best book. I took a peek at it a few years ago. By that time, my friend Carla Powers had come into my life, and she offered me the encouragement that I needed to get the book across the finish line. Amanda Jenkins did yeoman’s work in making the book’s characters come alive. I also am deeply grateful to Lucy Chambers, Alex Parsons, Stephen Roxburgh, and Jeff Smisek for their advice, suggestions, and friendship.
READING GROUP GUIDE
1. Describe key moments in the novel when you see Zert beginning to cross over from a rejection of his new world to an acceptance and understanding of it. What people or events cause him to change his opinion about Paradise and his view of himself in it?
2. Even though Zert liked his life in Low City DC and was connected to things there, he still felt frustrated, powerless, and stuck. How do you think becoming minimized and entering an unknown world eventually helps him become happier, stronger, and freer? How does he change from being someone who has things happen to him to someone who makes things happen?
3. Low City DC is portrayed as a place that has been ruined by war, pollution, crime, disease, and consumerism, essentially the destructive and wasteful nature of human beings. The author contrasts this with the clean, self-sustaining, natural “Paradise” of miniaturized people living in Rocky Mountain National Park. What statement do you think the author might be making about our world and the way we live our lives today? If we read this novel as a cautionary tale, what does it suggest about us and our role in the world? In light of this, what is the overall tone of the book? Does the author seem to leave the reader with a feeling of hope or despair? Why do you think this?
4. The author presents a fascinating futuristic world in which she imagines innovative technologies that are used every day. What are some of the favorite technologies or inventions that you read about? Talk about the role of imagination in the book. How is the world of the Rosies just as imaginative as Low City DC?
5. Do you think Zert and Jack would have allowed themselves to be minimized if Cribbie had not gotten Superpox? Before becoming minimized, do you think Zert fully understood how this would change his life? Why or why not?
6. The author creates a sense of disconnect between Zert and Beth from the very first time they meet. Describe how this impacts the chapters that follow and why you think this might be important to the storytelling.
7. Zert sometimes hides his true feelings. How does this affect his relationships with other characters?
8. Loneliness is a prevalent idea explored in the novel. Zert experiences loneliness in his life in Low City DC and also later in Paradise. Talk about ways in which his loneliness is different in each of these places. How does he eventually overcome it?
9. How is Zert like or unlike Abbot? If Zert had run into Abb
ot soon after arriving at Paradise, what do you think he and Abbot would have talked about? If Zert had run into Abbot at the end of the novel, how do you think their conversation would have been different?
10. Describe other characters in the novel who, like Zert, don’t really give things a chance at first. What does this say about the importance of openness and understanding?
11. Courage is a theme in the novel. In what scenes does Zert show courage, and how does this move the plot forward?
12. Zert has been around insects his whole life, but he does not fully appreciate them until after he is minimized. How does his attitude about insects evolve throughout the book? Talk about ways in which his openness to bugs moves the plot of the story forward.
13. Eating insects is a common practice around the world. Do you think you could eat bugs? How do you think Zert’s ability to eat bugs informs us as readers?
14. How do you think Jack likes living in Paradise? Discuss ways in which Jack’s love and loyalty to Zert throughout the book impact the outcome of the story.
15. Second chances play a major role in the book. What are scenes in which Zert gets a second chance? How do they impact him? How does he begin to learn to give second chances to others?
16. In one key scene, Zert saves Beth’s life from a bassetduck, which to them, looks like a giant monster. No other character in the novel is able to help Beth in that moment. What are examples, throughout the book, that show how Zert has always been good with animals? What do you think this says about Zert’s personality?
17. How would you characterize Don G.? Do you think he was wrong to be so closed off to minimized kids for so much of the novel? Why or why not? Discuss also the way the author uses the symbol of the Statue of Liberty throughout the novel. What statement do you think she is trying to make about welcoming others? In light of this, to what extent do you feel that nations and people in our own world should be welcoming to newcomers?
18. Knowing the outcome of the book, what would you say to Uncle Marin if you had the chance right now?
19. What do you think Zert will be like one year later? Why?
20. Do you think you would be able to live in a community like Paradise as a minimized human being? What, if anything, would you have done differently from Zert?
AUTHOR Q&A
Q: How and when did you first know you wanted to write Surviving Minimized? Can you share what inspired you to write a book about a teenager trying to survive in a miniaturized world?
A: I used to turn over rocks in my backyard and see the insects scurrying around underneath and dream about them. It fascinated me that there was a whole world underneath my feet that I knew nothing about. This book started in my backyard, but I wrote the first draft around 1997. After I finished it, I wrote thousands of more pages about the adventures of these small people. These other books are still under my bed, so to speak. At the time, I read this book and some of the others out loud to classes at a school near my house, called the Fay School.
Q: What inspired you to choose the dystopian setting of Low City DC as the world Zert came from? Do you have any particular interest in science fiction or with stories about the future?
A: Originally, I wrote this story in the present. But when I asked people to read the draft, their first comment was “I don’t believe that a responsible father would encourage his teenage son to shrink.” So, I rewrote the book and set it in a dire and terrible future. After that, no one questioned Jack Cage’s love for his son or decision to escape.
Q: What kind of research did you do on insects when you were writing this novel? To what extent do you believe in using insects as a sustainable food source? Did you discover anything new in your perspective on entomophagy during the process of writing? Why did you want to explore this topic?
A: I read lots of books on insects. But the most surprising thing I found was that there are actual roach farms in China and that roaches are being raised for use in Asian medicine and in cosmetics. Also, experiments suggest that cockroach milk is among the most nutritious and highly caloric substances on the planet. Who would have ever known?
Q: How long did this book take you to write?
A: Before I got used to writing on computers in the late nineties, I wrote this book out in longhand four or five times. I would change the point of view from first to third. Then, I’d buy a brand-new notebook, and I’d change the point of view back again, and I’d write it out by hand one more time. After that, I let the book sit for over a decade. I started working on the draft again about four years ago. Thank goodness by then I was able to use a computer to write my stories.
Q: What was your favorite chapter to write in Surviving Minimized and why? Which chapters came easiest? And on the other side of the spectrum, were any chapters particularly challenging for you to write? If so, can you share what it was about these parts of the story that challenged you?
A: Getting Zert’s character right was hard. In many drafts, he was such a smart aleck that no one liked him. I liked his sense of humor from the beginning, but I had to find a way to let him use it without making him sound bitter or too angry.
Q: What was one of the most surprising things you encountered as you worked on this novel? Did anything occur during the course of writing that gave you a different perspective on people and/or our place in the world? What did you enjoy most about the process of writing this book?
A: Writing with an outline is a good idea because it saves a lot of time. Unfortunately, I love writing freeform. I love it when I’m surprised by what happens in the next paragraph or the next chapter. I love it when I start typing and don’t know where I’m going, but the character seems to know and directs me. I really love everything about writing the first twenty or so drafts of a novel. Draft 1,298 isn’t as fun, though.
Q: The descriptions of Zert and Jack arriving as miniaturized humans in a new world are so vivid. Have you spent a lot of time in nature? What types of meaning do you personally attach to nature?
A: I have a trampoline in my backyard. It’s underneath a group of tall oak trees, and I like to jump on it and watch the sunlight come through the branches and pierce the spiderwebs. This past weekend, I got caught up in a series on television, and I didn’t spend as much time as usual outside. I am much happier if I go on a long walk at my neighborhood park or go for a swim and look up at the clouds.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from this book?
A: Insects may be the food of the future. Being the new kid in school is hard. And there are always new frontiers to explore.
Also, on a deeper note, the book is about bravery. When we’re about to act in a brave manner, a determination or resolution carries us through. Resolution can be cultivated. I’ve written this book to remind kids of this. Kids need resolution to succeed in their lives.
Q: Would you tell us about a particular person or author who has had a fundamental influence on your writing or your philosophy of life? How does this inform what you create?
A: Author Justin Cronin told me that your answer is always in your book. If your character is looking for a way to communicate with his mother and he’s forgotten his cell phone, reread the chapter. You’ll find a pay phone on the wall waiting for him to use it.
It’s also good advice for life. The tools are there to solve your problem. Just look around.
Q: Can you talk a bit about your writing process? How do you fit writing into your life? How do you get in the mood to write? Do you have any writing rituals?
A: I write at a newspaper during the week. It’s a different kind of writing. I have to be sure I get the facts right. If I make a mistake about a date when something happened or misspell a name, I feel horrible. It’s pure freedom when I get to the weekends and I start writing on my novels. Then I get to make stuff up.
It’s fun to try to shine a spotlight on things at the newspaper using factual writing. But it’s also fun to use my imagination.
I work on my novels every Sa
turday and Sunday that I’m in town. I exercise in the morning, and then I come back to my room and write for four hours.
Our house was flooded by Hurricane Harvey, but when we fixed it up, I got a study with a window that looks out onto a forest of trees. I sit in my comfortable chair and write. I love it. I don’t feel good about myself if I don’t spend time every week using my imagination.
Q: If a young person came to you for advice on how to get started writing, what would you tell them? What is the best—and worst—advice you’ve ever gotten about writing?
A: Best advice: write.
Worst advice: write with an outline. Again, outlines are great and save time. But they frustrate me, and one even made me cry.
Q: Do you have another book in the works? Anything you can reveal yet?
A: I have written three middle-grade books. In Surviving the Second Alamo, a young boy rebels against an authoritarian government that promises a risk-free lifestyle and perfect health. In Surviving the BlitzCube, a young boy gets trapped inside a game that his overprotective parent created to remind the world of the lessons of the Blitz. In Surviving Roman History Camp, a young girl thwarts a kidnapping at camp where holograms re-create the Roman games.
You can see by the titles what they all have in common.
Q: What do your children think about this book? In what ways did they help inform it?
A: Will, Stephen, and Elena, my adult children, will hopefully be rereading this book for the first time in a decade. Kelsi, my daughter-in-law, will be reading it for the first time.
Stephen always told me, “Write a book where the main character is someone I want to be.”
I’m sure they’ll tell me if I succeeded or not and if the book matches their memory of it from so long ago.
