A recent survey showed that only about one third of teenagers read regularly. So, writers who write for this demographic really need to bring their A game in order to reach such a limited audience. For author Mark Binder, he utilizes humor and entertainment in order to draw in readers with his book, The Groston Rules.
About the Author and Book
Author Name: Mark Binder – also The Bark Minder Project
Author Links
Book Title: The Groston Rules
Genres: YA / Humor / Fiction
Links to buy
Book Summary
Seven friends trying to graduate high school get caught up with bullying, climate change, and other dysfunctions…
THE GROSTON RULES is an edgy book for high school readers. With suspenseful twists and turns, it is a captivating and lighthearted high school tale about teens in trouble, surviving high school through their strong friendships.
Book excerpt
Chapter Zero – Cut to the Chase
“Go faster!” Charlie yelled.
“Don’t go faster!” Helen yelled back. “The speed limit is 25!”
“Rover?” Jesús hissed through gritted teeth.
“Turn right. Right!” Dave Rover screamed. His head ducked down as he squinted at his phone’s screen. “No, nono! Left! Left!”
“Hey,” I shouted. “Anyone have any gummies?”
Usually, it was a tight squeeze when the seven of us were crammed into Jesús’s Dartmobile, but because of our royal blue nylon graduation gowns we were sliding around like frozen fish on ice.
My stomach lurched as we topped a hill and went airborne for a moment before bottoming out with an excruciating thud of antique Detroit iron scraping on asphalt. We heard Helen’s wheelchair crash around inside the trunk.
“Stop bouncing the car!” Helen shrieked.
My cousin, Adam, didn’t say anything, but he had a big wide smile on his face as he held Helen securely in his lap. His arms were wrapped around her like a shoulder strap safety belt, which actually hadn’t been invented back when the car was manufactured.
“Graduation’s supposed to start in fifteen minutes,” Charlie said.
“Rover, I need to know the next turn now,” Jesús said. Even from the back seat, I could see that his knuckles were white on the steering wheel.
“I’m working on it,” Rover said, squinting as he tried to tap something on his phone. “My battery’s about to die.”
“We’re all gonna die!” Sean and I said simultaneously. We high fived over Helen and Adam, laughing hysterically. “Jinx!”
Review excerpts
From Kirkus Reviews
A group of high schoolers deals with mishaps and disasters six months before graduation in this coming-of-age novel.
Isaac Cohen and his six close friends will soon earn their diplomas in Groston, their small New England town. They spend much of their time hanging out and playing games in Dave Rover’s bomb-shelter basement. Anticipating a smooth ride to graduation, they have ready access to Adam Siegal’s medical marijuana. Adam “scored a medical marijuana card after a massive hip injury.” But hurdles await, starting with Adam’s scuffle with a couple of star football players at Ashby Bryson High School. It’s clearly self-defense for Adam, a skilled aikido practitioner, but the fallout adversely affects his admission to Columbia. Isaac, meanwhile, has received neither an acceptance nor a rejection from Harvard.
It only gets worse for everyone when calamitous weather forces the seven friends to attend school in another region. They clash with the other students as well as the rather pigheaded principal. But Isaac and company are resilient, and they make the most of their pre-graduation days by livening up a rave and, later, their prom. The friends also work hard on a “big end of the year prank” to send themselves and fellow students off in style.
Isaac narrates, though each one in the group shines, from Charlie Johnson, who grows to despise his nickname, “Fat Charlie,” to Helen Beagle, who relies on a wheelchair but repeatedly proves she’s not helpless. There are occasional hardships, like a loved one’s death, but the story is generally lighthearted and good-natured, with a focus on the prom and a potential romance between Adam and Helen. Dialogue is particularly delightful, as it’s welcome banter between witty and loyal friends.
Talking Shop
What do you want readers to take away from your books?
A good time! Seriously, in these dark days it’s great to escape into a book that’s both relevant, and has absolutely nothing to do with the pandemic and politics.
From a moralistic point of view? I admire the way the characters solve their own problems and support each other.
Name a fact or detail about your story that readers will never know is there.
The book was originally written as an “autobiographical lie” with the narrator (Isaac) never being named. While this is viable in shorter forms, for the novel it didn’t work. Once Isaac was named, his character sprang vividly to life.
What’s the best review/compliment that you’ve received about your book?
“Is that a true story?”
Then I give the answer I always do: Everything I write is true, and some of it really happened.
What famous books can you compare to your own?
It’s a cross between Catcher in the Rye and Booksmart with a bit of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
What is a fun or strange source of inspiration that ended up in your book?
The town of Groston (rhymes with Boston) was inspired by my hometown of Bethesda, crossed with Worcester, Mass. It’s vaguely “New England” refusing to land firmly in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut or Rhode Island. It’s probably not in Maine or Vermont.
How long did it take to write your book from the day you got the idea to write it to the day you published it?
I started writing the book in December of 2017. It was originally serialized on Spotify with audio excerpts “broadcast” beginning on January 1, 2018. Now it’s November 2020, so a little more than two years.
How long have you considered yourself a writer? Did you have any formal training, or is it something you learned as you went?
I started writing in college. I was dating an artist, and I can’t draw. Then she dumped me and I had something to write about.
As for formal training… I graduated from the Trinity Rep Conservatory with an MA in Playwrighting, but most of my formal writing training comes from decades of practice.
If you don’t make a living exclusively writing, what is your day job? How, in any way, does it relate to your life as a writer?
Until COVID, I worked as a professional storyteller, telling tales around the world. In fact, most of the characters in THE GROSTON RULES are reboots of some of my favorite characters from the books and stories, IT ATE MY SISTER and THE ZOMBIE CAT.
Who is on your Mt. Rushmore of all time great writers?
Stephen King, William Saroyan, Terry Pratchett, Mark Twain
What were your expectations for writing and publishing your first book? Have they changed since then?
My first book was called Crumbs Don’t Count – The Rationalization Diet. I thought it would sell a million copies. Sigh.
Nope expectations haven’t changed. I still want to sell a million copies.
Do you have a writing ritual, odd habits, or superstitions?
I write on Monday mornings. In a coffee shop, if possible. Read it aloud to someone on Tuesday. Rewrite it on Wednesday. Then let it gestate for a while.
How well do you handle criticism, either while writing, editing, or reviews? Do you ever use that criticism to change your story?
There’s a difference between criticism, which is value judgment, and criticism that is constructive. I throw out the value judgments and always steal the constructive criticism.
What is the most fun part about writing? The most difficult?
Fun? Making shit up! Creating characters and stories with an economy of language.
Most difficult? Convincing people to buy it. Reducing a novel to an Instagram post.
What skills have you acquired or information have you learned from writing?
I’ve learned that you always need to understand both sides of a story.
Did you consult with any professionals or people who lived through a particular event to help you craft your story?
Since the story is my invention… Nope.
What is your most stereotypical writer trait? Your least stereotypical?
Coffee? I used to drink a pot a day. Now I’m down to four espresso! Maybe six. Dang, I’ve got to go get one now that you mention it.
“What If” Scenarios
If you could have one person that you admire, living or dead, read your book, who would it be?
From a sales point of view? Oprah
From a respect point of view? Terry Pratchett
A wealthy reader buys 100 copies of your book and tells you to hand them out to anyone you wish. Who do you give them to?
High school students who hate reading, but with a magic spell that made them open the book and start reading before they passed judgment.
Let’s face it, this is a big fat book. It’s daunting looking. But it’s written so that people who hate reading will enjoy it. And of course people who love reading will enjoy it too.
Your favorite character that you’ve written comes to life for one day. What do you do together for 24 hours?
They’re all favorites, so I’d join them down in Rover’s basement, getting stoned and playing video games (which I’d be magically good at too!).
You are transported into your book for one day. What role do you play? How do you alter the events of the story?
See above. I AM the narrator. And the story is perfect, so…
You’re given $10,000 to spend on marketing for your book. How do you spend it?
If I knew the answer to that, I’d spend $10,000 tomorrow.
Perhaps giving copies away to high school students who hate reading. The magic spell would probably cost $5,000…
Your book becomes a best seller. What do you do next?
Write something completely different. Then write the sequel.
You have the means to hire a full time assistant to help you with your writing. What tasks do you give them to do?
Marketing and Sales. Sales and Marketing!
Just For Fun
What legacy do you want to leave behind?
I make a mean pizza and an amazing Challah
A movie or a piece of music that changed your life.
There was a decade when Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure was my mantra – “Be excellent to people, and party on, Dude.”
Favorite place you’ve visited/place you want to visit.
Italy. All of it. And London, of course.
Food you’d like to win a lifetime supply of.
Coffee!
A book that you recommend everyone reads.
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
The topic you can’t shut up about and the topic you wish everyone would shut up about.
Don’t get me started.
Your most unrealistic dream job.
Novelist and performing storyteller…
Buy it!
Buy a copy of The Groston Rules here, and help support local bookstores! This is an affiliate link, and I will earn a commission on any sales.
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