This makes me think of last year's Houdini biography (Escape!) by Sid Fleischman. I loved the way he brought his own experiences with magic and Houdini's wife into his telling of Houdini's life. Another one I liked a lot from last year was Robert Lipsyte's Heroes of Baseball where his love of the game was so palpable even as he made clear why these particular guys (not necessarily heroic in some eyes) were his particular heroes. It seems these both worked so well because the authors were passionate about the topic as well as the individuals being portrayed. Not sure if it is what you are getting at, but both were books where the authors were very visible in the storytelling for sure.

I knew Sid's book, and yes that is part of what I meant. But I am writing about Bill Gates -- there are two emotions you can't help feeling about him: envy, and eagerness to please. So I am asking others, think of someone you could imagine writing about where you would have strong feelings (not necessarily all positive) about that person. How would you do handle that on paper? This is a thought experiment, not a test.

It’s a stretch, but I’d love to play, for a few moments, that I am Janet Malcolm. My take, which is hasty and not well-informed (hey, this is a blog, not major analysis, right?) is that she stretches the bounds of biography, something I’ll always cheer, and focuses not just on newfound material but on delving into the subject’s interiors. No wonder this is often unwelcome. Who wants to be told they should undergo a bit of therapy, that someone else might know more than they do about their interior life? And after someone dies, it’s not surprising the family will take this “keep out” role. But of course the rest of us are pretty fascinated. I don’t see why a YA biographer shouldn’t come across fresh material as well as anyone else, or conduct revealing interviews. I guess if I were to write such a book based on a life, I’d try to let other peoples’ voices, culled from interviews, be in the forefront, but be upfront about how my role as interviewer may have shaped what is revealed. I just read Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill by Jessica Stern (veering off, obviously, from children’s literature) and I admired how Stern seems open about her biases and why the subject intrigues her, then, as she conducts interviews, not only quotes and describes her surroundings, but alludes to her fears, hesitations, and how she tries to separate lies from truths. While the militants she interviews are the main subject, and we’re reading to learn about them, we do get a sense of who is recording and evaluating the material, and that made me better able to analyze it myself. Unlike Malcolm, who apparently thinks of her role as a potential betrayer, Stern stresses that a good interviewer should be empathetic, even with people she fears and despises (but is she telling the truth re that? Talk about slippery.) I’ve strayed from the questions, but thanks for posing them!

Jeannine has gotten it exactly right -- I love the example of Stern and the Militants -- the author as betrayer, or, as empathic listener, even to those she finds evil. Bringing that level of self-awareness into how we write for teenagers is exactly what I'm suggesting we consider.