It happened folks! Today I met SimoneElkeles! She was amazing, fun, and entertaining. She made me laugh so hard I wanted to pee my pants at times.
Simone started the presentation by introducing the eight books she has available. She showed the rap for Perfect Chemistry, and the book trailers for Rules of Attraction and Chain Reaction. When she spoke of each book, there were definitely some cheers in the crowd for their favorite Fuentes brother (okay, okay…I admit it…I let out a woohoo for Carlos. Okay, a big woooohooooooo, you got me).
I loved her casting call for Alex Fuentes: Sexiest Mexican Guy Alive! She did a damn excellent job in finding him—Alexander F. Rodriguez. And then she was too shy to call him. Haha. Cute. She also talked about casting for the characters of Carlos and Luis. She was able to watch auditions for the characters and new immediately that the playful Giancarlo Vidrio (Where’s your Twitter Giancarlo?) was perfect for Carlos Fuentes (I’ve seen the bloopers video and I’d have to say I agree).
With Luis Fuentes, she asked fans for their input. Cool, huh! They selected Gabriel Chavarria from the Freedom Writers movie. When I saw him on the video online, I kept on thinking, I know him from somewhere. Where is he from? What movie has he been in? What TV show? Maybe he’s a singer? So I looked him up on IMDB.com and that’s when I figured it out. I’ve seen that movie so many times I cannot even count that high.
I really loved Simone’s stories about how she was not a reader. It reminded me of myself. I was definitely not a reader in high school. I hated to read. I would buy the Cliff Notes version of the books we were supposed to read and just try to do my best on quizzes and tests because the books weren’t anything I could connect to. I wish I could be a student now, in a time where young adult fiction is so popular. I would have loved for a teacher to say, “You should read this book, you’ll love it.” And the book wouldn’t be The House of Seven Gables, like it was when I was in school. It’d be Perfect chemistry, Dead is the New Black, or Snitch. I never had those kinds of books suggested to me or maybe I would’ve become a reader before I was 30 years old.
Well, we already know that I was excited to meet Simone. But really, it was about the kids. My students were in awe. They had been going crazy all week in anticipation for her visit. When she finished her presentation, she took so much time with each of them to sign autographs, take pictures, and chat. Their excitement was contagious, and it spread throughout the school by the end of the day.
I cracked up at some of my students who had Simone sign their arms. Bookmarks, posters, and paperbacks, okay. But body parts. Lol. One girl asked Simone to sign the back of her jean jacket. It looked awesome. One student was in tears. It reminded me of a boy band concert. Haha.
Simone definitely made an impact. She created readers. She created readers out of so many students who would’ve never picked up a book before but they saw the cover of Perfect Chemistry and were intrigued. Teachers also book talked the series and students wanted to read it, not because they were assigned to. She created a culture of reading on our campus long before she even arrived, and I’m sure many more will be joining in on the ready frenzy for months to come.
When she shared a story about meeting Judy Blume (which I thought was pretty bleeping amazing—Judy Blume!!!!), I chuckled because I felt the same giddy way about meeting Simone. She’s an amazing writer and writes wonderful books teens absolutely enjoy and connect with. People are becoming lifelong readers because of the books she’s written and it was so freaking exciting to be able to meet her. She was right in front of me. I got to shake her hand. I got to give her a hug and say thank you. I got to give her bottle of wine and some Graber olives. How cool is that?!
I’ve been ecstatic for two weeks. Today finally came and now I’m sad it’s over. But hey, I got to meet her. I got to see what a great person she is and how wonderful she interacted with our kids. I had such a great time and I felt like I met someone who was just way way way too cool. I even told her that meeting her was just as exciting as meeting New Kids on the Block. For those of you who know me know, that is huge. Danny Wood even kissed me on the cheek. Then here’s Simone Elkeles, and I was just as excited today as I was in August of 2008 when I finally got to meet New Kids.
So with Simone’s autograph inscription of “Always follow your dreams” and “Enjoy the adventure” in mind, I just want to say, I will. I’m going to live my dreams and the adventure, and eventually, with a lot of hard work, determination, and a ton of rewrites, one day I’ll be right alongside you, Simone, with my own New York Times bestseller. 
