One Book New Jersey Author Is Inspired by Her Childhood

Candace Braun

Prodded by memories of childhood loss and rejection, Carol Plum-Ucci, this year's One Book New Jersey author for young adults, is able to reach her teen audience by offering an adult perspective through the voice of a child.

The author spoke about her book, The Body of Christopher Creed, to a teenage audience at the Princeton Public Library on Thursday, June 17.

Set in Smithville, the book tells the story of a taunted 16-year-old boy named Chris who ends up missing, leaving nothing behind but a note on a library computer. As Chris's peers begin to search for their missing classmate, memories of the way they used to torment the boy in childhood begin to trouble them.

As the story unfolds, they come to realize the importance of showing compassion towards those who are different from themselves.

Along with a message of truth for its readers, the book also delves into the mysteries of the Pine Barrens, an area tied to many New Jersey legends.

A south New Jersey resident, Ms. Plum-Ucci has close family ties to the woods, highlighted by One Book New Jersey's main selection for this year, The Pine Barrens, by John McPhee. Thirteen generations on her father's side of the family and 11 generations on her mother's side come from the area, which is surrounded by tales of monsters and mystery. The most famous monster, the Jersey Devil, is quite possibly a relative of the author, who is related to the Leeds family of the Pine Barrens, alleged to have given birth to the creature, said to be half man and half beast.

"My ancestry is so rich in the Pine Barrens and I think I showed a lot of that in Creed," said the author of the book that was selected as the book that all young adults in New Jersey should read this year.

On a recent visit to the Pine Barrens to search out the graves of her ancestors, Ms. Plum-Ucci said she was alone in her quest, as neither her English composition students at Atlantic Cape Community College, nor her fellow writing friend would step foot in the woods. Differing from many who fear the woods, the author said she feels drawn to the area for its mystery.

Mystery is also what has made The Body of Christopher Creed the success that it is, said the author.

The character of Chris Creed is based on a boy the author knew when she was growing up. In elementary school he was known as the "cry baby," the boy everyone would tease and harass. In his sophomore year of high school, he fell down the stairs and broke his leg and had to be home-schooled for the rest of the school year. After that he and his family moved, and Ms. Plum-Ucci and her classmates never knew where he went.

"He was just plain gone; just like Christopher Creed," the author told her Princeton teenage audience.

At the age of 35, Ms. Plum-Ucci began to think about this boy again, and what damage the harassment from her classmates, and her own lack of compassion, may have caused him in later life.

"When you're an adult you start to regret things from your childhood," she said. "At 35 years old, I began to ask myself: Why didn't I just help him up when he was knocked down?"

This led the author to start thinking about those who teased her when she was younger, and she began to realize what an impact those people had on her life. Ms. Plum-Ucci said to this day, she can recall everything about a particular incident in which someone made fun of her, right down to what the person was wearing and what he was eating for lunch that day.

All of these memories came together to embody the story of Christopher Creed, which has a message for its readers that some seem to miss, said the author.

Ms. Plum-Ucci picked the name Creed for her lead character because it symbolizes the "lost faith" in his life because of the poor treatment he had received from his peers.

"Lost faith is not easily found again," said Ms. Plum-Ucci, just as Chris Creed's body is not easily found by his peers in the novel.

"There's a whole religious element to my book that a lot of people miss," she told the teenagers.

Raised in a funeral home in Brigantine, Ms. Plum-Ucci has a communications degree from Purdue University, and is currently working towards her master's degree at Rutgers University. She is a former staff writer for the Miss America Organization.

The author has received numerous awards for her writing, in particular The Body of Christopher Creed, which received the 2001 silver medal for the Michael L. Printz Honor Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association. It was also one of four finalists for the young adult mystery division of the 2001 Edgar Allen Poe Awards.

Other popular books written by the author include What Happened to Lani Garver, and The She.

Ms. Plum-Ucci does not see herself writing a sequel to The Body of Christopher Creed, as has been requested by many of her readers. However there may be movie potential for the book.

In 2001 the novel was optioned by DreamWorks, and Ms. Plum-Ucci traveled to Los Angeles to meet with script writers, as well as "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer, owner of Grammnet.

While that particular deal fell through, the author said she received a call six weeks ago from Paramount Pictures, which now has a similar interest in her novel.

However, until then, the author said she will continue to write, remembering the key point to all of her writing: "Keep it fun. If it's not fun, why are we doing it?"

For more information on this year's One Book New Jersey selections, visit www.OneBookNewJersey.org.