"I didn't know I had written a juvenile," Temple said. "I didn't really think of it at the time. I like to include people of all ages in my books and I sent it out to some adult publishers who thought it might do better as a young adult title, but frankly most editors told me there was little chance for a book taking place seven hundred years ago and filled with such information as how to build a cathedral." But the writing experience had transformed Temple: she saw stories in the world around her and in quick succession wrote manuscripts dealing with contemporary life and young people living through extraordinary perils: in
Grab Hands and Run Temple tells the story of a family from El Salvador as they flee to Canada, and in
Taste of Salt she tells a story of modern Haiti with "gritty realism and vivid island setting," according to Shannon Maughan in
Publishers Weekly. The realism was no accident: Temple blended meticulous research and familiarity with many parts of the world with a deep and abiding sense of fairness and belief in other humans. These are some of the most important tools in the writer's kit, and Temple, though coming to writing late, developed them throughout her life.
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