Welcome to the Guestbook!
I’m always eager to read your comments about my books and stories, so please feel free to pitch in. Here are a few things for you to know:
1) I answer the messages here personally.
2) No message shows up here until I actually answer it to prevent spam and other inappropriate postings. So there will sometimes be a delay before your message posts, especially if I am traveling.
3) Teachers, a gentle request: Please do not have multiple children send me variants of the same message. A group email is much easier to respond to and not such a drain on my time. My thanks in advance for being alert to this.
Sign the Guestbook!
Dear Mr. Coville,
Happy New Year! I haven't seen a guestbook format in a very, very long time but I'm happy I get to even in a small way communicate with you.
Growing up in the late 90s/early 2000s had me spending a lot of time in the library, since I was very introverted and already keenly aware of being "weird" (though not completely since words like "neurodivergent" or "queer" hadn't entered my vocabulary) I ended up reading a lot. I loved fantasy worlds in particular and was drawn towards your Magic Shop books! Jennifer Murdley's Toad meant a lot to me in particular, being the "ugly" girl that one day hoped something would just magically snap into place and make me "beautiful".
I still think about Mr. Elives' words of "most mirrors are mere errors" and the scene of Jennifer looking into the magic mirror. How effectively you portrayed the perspective of a girl dealing with bullying and unrealistic beauty standards stays with me, especially in terms of her self-esteem. It's not often that I saw stories like that where the magical solution wasn't the best and even caused trouble for Jennifer, but instead finding happiness and love within herself for who she is.
So, in all that, I just wanted to say thank you for being a part of some lovely memories I had with reading as a young weird (and obliviously closeted) kid. Hope you have safe travels, dry socks, and a warm bed wherever you go.
Happy New Year! I haven't seen a guestbook format in a very, very long time but I'm happy I get to even in a small way communicate with you.
Growing up in the late 90s/early 2000s had me spending a lot of time in the library, since I was very introverted and already keenly aware of being "weird" (though not completely since words like "neurodivergent" or "queer" hadn't entered my vocabulary) I ended up reading a lot. I loved fantasy worlds in particular and was drawn towards your Magic Shop books! Jennifer Murdley's Toad meant a lot to me in particular, being the "ugly" girl that one day hoped something would just magically snap into place and make me "beautiful".
I still think about Mr. Elives' words of "most mirrors are mere errors" and the scene of Jennifer looking into the magic mirror. How effectively you portrayed the perspective of a girl dealing with bullying and unrealistic beauty standards stays with me, especially in terms of her self-esteem. It's not often that I saw stories like that where the magical solution wasn't the best and even caused trouble for Jennifer, but instead finding happiness and love within herself for who she is.
So, in all that, I just wanted to say thank you for being a part of some lovely memories I had with reading as a young weird (and obliviously closeted) kid. Hope you have safe travels, dry socks, and a warm bed wherever you go.
Reply by Bruce Coville
Hi, Monica -
Many thanks for this lovely message. JENNIFER MURDLEY was a difficult book to write, precisely for the reason you mention - I absolutely could not give her the happy ending of getting what she wanted. That the book spoke to you so clearly and meant so much to you . . . means a lot to me!
I think the greatest accolade a writer can get - beyond sales, beyond good reviews - is knowing that a book touched reader's life, and is remembered long after it was first read. So many thanks for that!
All good wishes,
Bruce
Many thanks for this lovely message. JENNIFER MURDLEY was a difficult book to write, precisely for the reason you mention - I absolutely could not give her the happy ending of getting what she wanted. That the book spoke to you so clearly and meant so much to you . . . means a lot to me!
I think the greatest accolade a writer can get - beyond sales, beyond good reviews - is knowing that a book touched reader's life, and is remembered long after it was first read. So many thanks for that!
All good wishes,
Bruce