We chat with author Adrianna Cuevas about What Fell From The Sky, which is an out-of-this-world middle grade adventure, based on true historical events, perfect for fans of The Goonies and Stranger Things.
Hi, Adrianna! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a high school substitute teacher who finds particular joy in hockey fights, horror movies, and not killing things in my garden. I also manage to write a book or two a year featuring Cuban-American kids going on adventures.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
In fourth grade, my adhd brain was consumed with daydreaming instead of listening. One day, my teacher did an activity in class where she gave us large pieces of blank paper and told us to draw all the images that popped into our minds while she played music. I thought the activity would be easy since that’s what my brain did all the time, but I was frustrated when the music stopped and the decapitated stick figures on my paper looked nothing like the epic battle I had pictured in my head. That’s when my teacher encouraged me to write down all the stories I was always making up instead of drawing them. After that, I constantly had a notebook with me. I even published a family newsletter growing up where I wrote a gossip column about my older sister and critiqued the dinners my mom made. It was highly unpopular.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: My abuelo reading to me Caperucita Roja (Little Red Riding Hood).
- The one that made you want to become an author: An illustrated anthology of Edgar Allen Poe short stories and poems.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages… should I go back to school and get my PhD in linguistics?
Your latest novel, What Fell from the Sky, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Kids and aliens outsmart soldiers
What can readers expect?
A fast-paced adventure about kids standing up to the government to save a friend, complete with pie warfare, flaming manure piles, and fainting turkeys.
Where did the inspiration for What Fell from the Sky come from?
The story is based on a real historical event that happened in Lampasas, Texas in 1952. My husband shared an article with me about the army invading a small Texas town as part of a military exercise. I was fascinated by the chaos of the whole thing and knew it would make the perfect backdrop for exactly the kind of story I love to tell.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Corporal Harvey Shipley is a Black soldier who teams up with the kids to help save Luisa, their alien friend. Corporal Shipley is facing the challenges of a newly integrated army, particularly as the commanding officer of a group of white soldiers. I appreciated learning about the contributions of Black soldiers during WWII, like the Red Ball Express, as well as the challenges they faced during the Korean War era when the army integrated. Creating a camaraderie between Corporal Shipley and Pineda and his friends allowed me to highlight one of the themes of the book, the importance of finding community in the face of oppression.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
This is the first time I’ve written a multi-POV story and it was an ignorantly ambitious idea to jump into this storytelling method with a space alien POV. I struggled with the linguistics of Luisa’s first person narrative and how exactly she would speak in her chapters. I was able to draw from my 16- year experience as an ESOL teacher to come up with ways for Pineda and Luisa to communicate once I established the rules of how she would tell her story herself.
What’s your pitch to adults looking to purchase or recommend What Fell from the Sky to young readers?
As a former teacher, I always write my books with kids who think they don’t like reading in mind. This story is filled with lots of action and humor, and short chapters that end on cliffhangers to keep you turning the page. It’s perfect for kids who like Stranger Things and their parents who liked The Goonies.
What’s next for you?
I’m exploring a wildlife refuge in Texas that seems to be filled with simple deer, elk, and longhorn cattle, but is actually a home to cryptids from Texas lore like Hogzilla, the Bear King, and the Houston Batman. My main character Jordi will have to team up with his friends to protect the cryptids when an oil company intent on drilling in the refuge comes to town.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
I’m a massive hockey fan (Go Panthers!) so I can’t wait for everyone to read Bea Mullins Takes a Shot by Emily Diebert. I’m also really excited for the sequel to one of my favorite reads last year, The Last Rhee Witch and the Nine-Tailed Fox by Jenna Lee-Yun.
