Jenn asked Meg Medina:

When you write books like the MERCI series , do you think back to what you read when you were that age? (I can vividly recall the books I read over & over...) What books had a big impact on you at that age? What do you hear from readers who are enjoying your books now? With the world of social media so prevalent in young people's lives today, are they still connecting with characters in the same way?

Meg Medina Hi Jenn! I remember reading Judy Blume's Are You There god, Its Me Margaret and feeling so connected to her angry feelings about her mother's "packaged cakes" and more. I was always drawn to books that focused on characters' feelings more than strictly on the adventure. As for readers today...I do hear from them, and I love it. I especially love when they share with me something in their own life that has to do with what they read. It makes me feel like they are getting some clarity about growing up and, more, that they are connecting with their imagination and their intuition about people. Social media and all the electronic options have definitely changed how kids connect, but the thirst TO connect is still there and I still see them interacting with books that move them.

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