The protagonist of Sara Zarr’s recent novel Once Was Lost, Samara Taylor, is the teenage daughter of a pastor who leads a small congregation in the desert of eastern Oregon. In the midst of a series of traumatic events “Sam” develops a fascination for xeriscaping, the art of creating a garden that needs only a bare minimum of rain to flourish. The metaphor is apt, not only for this novel, but for all of Zarr’s deeply affecting young adult novels: how can the heart flourish and grow when the circumstances of life seem to dry up what we most need? Zarr’s young protagonists are only different from the adults who surround them in that they are learning to cope with drought for the first time, which lends a poignancy and dignity to their struggles. We at Image are especially proud of Sara Zarr because she has cited our Glen Workshop program, which she has attended for years, for giving her the spiritual and literary resources she needed to persevere in her desire to become a writer. And look at the results of that perseverance! Zarr’s first novel, The Story of a Girl, was nominated for the National Book Award (losing out to Sherman Alexie), and her second, Sweethearts, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. All of her stories are grounded in a tough psychological realism that never patronizes her characters: they are not stereotypically hip teenagers but quirky individuals who struggle through a truly difficult patch of human life. In short, Zarr refuses to flatter her readers; instead, she does them the honor of taking them seriously. WhileOnce Was Lost is one of the few recent YA novels to depict a protagonist’s struggle with religious faith and doubt, Zarr’s interest is not in making a theological point but in rendering belief believable. Sam Taylor’s fascination with xeriscaping—which requires a lot of rocks to cover the soil and help retain moisture—mirrors the way most of us live: the attempt to endure and grow when the rain refuses to fall. Sara Zarr’s novels may be put in a particular section of a bookstore but you would be cheating yourself if you let that prevent you from experiencing their hard, beautiful truths.
Some of Zarr’s work is featured in Image issue 61. Read an excerpt by Zarr here.
Biography
Sara Zarr is the acclaimed author of three novels for young adults: Story of a Girl, Sweethearts, and Once Was Lost. Sara has contributed short fiction and essays to the anthologies Does This Book Make Me Look Fat?: Stories About Loving—and Loathing—Your Body, Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, and Jesus Girls: True Tales of Growing Up Female & Evangelical, as well as to Image and Hunger Mountain. Her novels have variously been named to the American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults, Oprah Kids Book Club, Texas Library Association Tayshas Reading List, International Reading Association Choices, Capitol Choices, and New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age. Story of a Girl was a finalist for the Utah Book Award and National Book Award; Sweetheartswas a finalist for the Cybil Award and Utah Book Award.
Sara is from Northern California and now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband. You can visit her online at www.sarazarr.com.
Current Works
May 2010
My latest novel, Once Was Lost, came out last October. It’s the first of my books to deal directly with issues of faith and I’m very excited and curious (and a little nervous) to hear the reactions that will start coming in. I’m working, too, on my fourth book for Little, Brown. Right now it has two narrators, which is an interesting challenge as one of them seems reluctant to reveal much about herself. (I realize this makes me sound like a crazy writer who hears voices, but I don’t know how else to describe it.) Also, I’m hoping to keep writing shorter creative nonfiction pieces and trying new things. Because I’m generally afraid and insecure, I have a deal with myself to say yes to every writing opportunity that comes up if I can possibly fit it into my schedule. Otherwise I’d never take new risks.