Face to face with a Stotan

Young adult author spends day at secondary school

MOSES LAKE - It's not every day students get to meet the author whose books they've read in class.

Truth be told, people like William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Nathaniel Hawthorne might have some explaining to do over the required reading.

Spokane-based author Chris Crutcher, however, didn't have nearly so tough a job.

Crutcher spent the day at Columbia Basin Secondary School in Moses Lake Wednesday, going around to various middle school and high school classes before speaking in an assembly at the end of the day.

Crutcher spoke through sponsoring program GEAR UP.

GEAR UP site director Kassandra Watson said Crutcher was requested by several teachers who had been working with his books for several years.

Crutcher's visit meant a lot to the school, Watson added.

"Sometimes, in a school such as this, they get quite frustrated because people might not come out and visit and you don't get certain impacting visitors," she said. "This is somebody who really means something to them and he actually cared to come out. Plus, he's somewhat local, so they can really connect to him and where he's coming from."

Crutcher talked about where he got his ideas and read from several of his books throughout the day, including "Stotan!" (the title refers to a cross between a stoic and a Spartan), "Whale Talk" and his most recently published work, "Deadline."

GEAR UP instructor Gabe Adame called Crutcher's public speaking "mesmerizing."

"Some kids just didn't really know who he was," he said. "They read the book, but they weren't that excited. Now, they're just on the edge of their seats: What's he going to say next?"

Watson said Crutcher made the connection the school was hoping for.

"It was incredible," she said. "For an author to come in, talk about writing and to read directly from his books and to have the kids just eating up every word, it's a godsend. That doesn't always happen."

Ninth-grader Tyler Johnson said he read Crutcher's "Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes."

"In my opinion, his book really does build suspense, because when the teacher stopped reading, you just want to keep going," Johnson said.

"I thought it was wonderful, I'd like him to come back again," said Kimberlin Robinson, 10th-grader. "Just the way he writes his books I think is amazing. Just the way he explains things in his book and the stories, how they're written. I would definitely like him to come back."

"It was a chance to come and work with kids like the ones I used to work with when I was in alternative ed," Crutcher said. "I had a ball. Really good audiences all the way through. Just good questions."

Crutcher said he was impressed with the wide range of students at the school and where the students are headed.