Hope Jahren: On Connecting the Dots in a Reimagining

Hope Jahren is a teacher, scientist, and book lover living in Oslo, Norway. Recognized as one Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Jahren is the recipient of three Fulbright Awards and was named one of the Brilliant 10 by Popular Science magazine in 2005. She is the author of two works of nonfiction: The Story of More and Lab Girl, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography. Adventures of Mary Jane is her first work of fiction. You can follow her on her website, Twitter, and Instagram.

Hope Jahren

Photo by Nile Scott

In this interview, Hope discusses how the seed of an idea became her new young adult historical fiction novel, Adventures of Mary Jane, her advice for other writers, and more!

Name: Hope Jahren
Literary agent: Erin Malone, WME
Book title: Adventures of Mary Jane
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release date: June 25, 2024
Genre/category: Young Adult Historical Fiction
Previous titles: The Story of More, Lab Girl, The Story of More (Adapted for Young Readers)
Elevator pitch: In this brand-new reimagining, Mary Jane—the red-headed spark from Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, who stole Huck’s heart in just 30 pages—comes to life with her own story of adventuring down the Mississippi River in the 1840s.

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What prompted you to write this book?

When my son was a kid, we listened to the audiotape of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn during a long car ride—he loved it so much that he wanted to hear it again and again! I thought a lot about why he loved the book so much. He loved the fast-paced action of Huck escaping from his pa, who was a really bad guy. I was more interested in the scams and lies and pretending that the various characters did and why they did it. Then, near the end, appeared Mary Jane—a complete mystery. I decided I’d set out to solve it for myself, and figure out she really is and what she was up to, while making sure the action of her story was just as fast-paced as Huck’s.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I’ve always loved Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; I read it early in life and the character of Huck has stayed with me as if he is an actual person I knew during childhood (although I was better friends with Becky, and I didn’t much care for Tom … but that’s literally another story!). In 1997 I started a research project where we compared the health of trees living near the Mississippi River in Arkansas, versus Mississippi, versus Louisiana. Off and on during the next three years I spent weeks and weeks travelling up and down the Mississippi, and it got me to thinking about Huck almost every day—how much he loved that river, its sights, its sounds, its smells … it was during that time that I got to love the river too. I suppose that is when the first seeds of the book were planted in my brain. After I sat down and worked out the plot about 10 years ago, it didn’t ever change. I suspect that somewhere in my mind I had worked it out and cemented it long before.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

How many times we went back and forth, doing and redoing the cover! We wanted it to show different places that Mary Jane travelled, and several key things that she had and used, and the animals that were her friends and heroes. And I dearly wanted it to be red in color. With each version we got closer and closer to our vision, but it took a while! I absolutely love the cover we settled on.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

Shoes! Did you know that back in 1800s America, most people didn’t have a “right shoe” and a “left shoe”? They just bought two shoes of a plain type that they could swap and mix and match and borrow and trade. There were 1,000 other surprising details that I learned about life back then, only some of which made it into the book, but they all helped me flesh out Mary Jane’s surroundings into a very real world.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

Most of all, I hope they will find a new friend in Mary Jane, for she needs friends, and wants them desperately. She didn’t grow up with sisters, or other kids really, so she is eager to find a friend group who will let her in. In exchange, she’ll tell you all her secrets, including the best and worst moments of her life (so far).

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Write about something that made you laugh! Think of the funniest thing that ever happened to you—something that made you absolutely lose it with laughter—and share it with your reader. Perhaps have one of your characters experience it—get it on the page! People love to laugh—it feels good, after all. In other parts of your story, you can relate sad or scary or angry thoughts, but do give the reader a gift of laughter wherever it fits. Life is hard enough, and we owe it to each other to pass on any happiness we possibly can.

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