Maryrose Wood's most recent novel, WHAT I WORE TO SAVE THE WORLD (now in paperback!) is the latest installment in a series centered on Morgan Rawlinson --- a typical teenage girl... who also happens to be a half goddess in a magical Irish faery realm. Below, Maryrose explores how her protagonist has grown and changed over the course of the three-book series, and how --- in both fiction and real life --- our "fantasy" lives can enrich our realities.


With the release of WHAT I WORE TO SAVE THE WORLD, the third and, for now, final book in the Morgan Rawlinson series, I’ve been thinking a lot about all the challenges Morgan has had to face: both as the real, flawed (but always sarcastic and funny) teen girl she is, and the magical half-goddess that she also embodies.

In each book, the inspiration for Morgan’s faery world adventure springs directly from the issue she’s struggling with in real life. In WHY I LET MY HAIR GROW OUT, Morgan can’t get over a bad breakup. It’s the toxic, hurtful kind of breakup where the guy never treated her that well to begin with, and yet she’s devastated that he dumped her. Maybe part of what makes those kinds of breakups so hard to heal from is that, once you’ve been dumped, the secret hope that Mr. Not That Nice might someday be genuinely good to you is squashed forever.

In the fantasy plot of the book, Morgan discovers she’s also the magical half-goddess Morganne. Soon she learns what it’s like to have the undying devotion of an ancient warrior dude (he’s under a bit of love spell, poor guy). It’s nice, but eventually she has to let him go live out the rest of his myth, which includes a fated romance with a hot-blooded warrior queen. In the meantime, real-life Morgan starts to have feelings for Colin, the hawt Irish guy who’s as good-hearted and kind as her ex-boyfriend was selfish and snarky. And did we say hawt? Clearly, moving on has its benefits!

In HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS, Morgan suffers the heartache of pining for someone who’s far away, not only physically (Colin lives in Ireland; Morgan lives in Connecticut), but emotionally, too --- after spending such a short time together she’s just not sure how Colin feels about her. She’s afraid she’s just being stupid to let her feelings run away with her. Love seems so complicated, and there are so many obstacles in the way.

When plotting the fantasy part of the book, I discovered that, in Irish legend, there’s no such thing as a female leprechaun. Major brainstorm! What better way to explore the difficulties of love, and the fear of never finding it, than to put Morgan in charge of finding a prom date for a lonely leprechaun?

In the new book, WHAT I WORE TO SAVE THE WORLD, Morgan turns her attention to larger issues. It’s the summer between junior and senior year, and all her friends are obsessed with applying for college. But Morgan just doesn’t have the confidence (not to mention the grades, SAT scores and extracurricular résumé) to make any big decisions about her future.

Clearly, the fantasy plot in this book had to examine the theme of Morgan “stepping up to the plate,” in terms of leadership and responsibility. When Queen Titania decides to let magic hell break loose in the human realm, Morgan literally becomes responsible for saving the world. She has to find the confidence to take charge, and learns to put the greater good ahead of her own personal satisfaction. She also must face the fact that, if her relationship with Colin is ever going to be more than just a hormone-fueled teen romance (itself a kind of fantasy), she needs to tell him the truth about herself, magical warts and all.

It’s not easy to do. She’s terrified that Colin will reject her if he knows her “secret.” Have you ever felt afraid that someone would like you less, or not at all, if they knew the “truth” about you?

I’ve had so much fun sending Morgan on these wild quests, filled with faeries, leprechauns and even (in WHAT I WORE TO SAVE THE WORLD), a very enthusiastic herd of unicorns! Morgan’s magic adventures have offered her the chance to learn and grow in each book. The lessons she learns in the faery realm always follow her back to her real life.

Come to think of it, that’s exactly what reading does --- it lets us have adventures in the world of our imaginations that broaden our experience, develop our sense of compassion, and enrich who we are in our “real” lives.

I can’t tell you exactly what happens to Morgan after the third book is over; that story hasn’t been written yet. Anyway, it’s more fun if you imagine her future (and Colin’s too, of course) for yourself. But whatever life holds in store for Morgan, I hope she always finds lots of great books to read! That way her adventures will never end.

xoxo

-- Maryrose Wood

Labels: Maryrose Wood, What I Wore to Save the World