Spring 2026      Volume 54, Number 2

Authors, Books, and Beyond: A Conversation with Gayle Forman About Her Middle-Grade Novel, 
Not Nothing
By Amina Chaudhri

Document: Column  

Introductory Paragraph:  What if we lived in a world in which we gave each other another chance? The chance to be more than the worst thing we’ve said or done and be loved because of and despite of all our misdeeds. What would that world look like? It might look something like the world shared by Alex and Maya-Jade and Frank, and all the residents of the Shady Glen Retirement home, the setting for Gayle Forman’s novel, Not Nothing. Ten-year-old Alex is sentenced to community service at Shady Glen for doing a terrible thing. There he meets 107-year-old Josey, a Holocaust survivor with a story to tell. Alex’s rough edges are softened by the space people make for him as he learns important life lessons. Not Nothing has earned starred reviews and awards, including the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award. In this interview, Gayle talks about how she created this marvelous book. I would like to credit the graduate students in my Children’s Literature course for suggesting some of the questions I asked Gayle. Read more about Gayle Forman on her website: https://www.gayleforman.com.

DOI:    https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.54.2.2026.55

Page Numbers:   55-61