Jennifer Torres was one of the first middle grade authors I read, and I remember LOVING the voice and food descriptions in her book, Stef Soto, Taco Queen. I’m thrilled to be chatting with Jenn about her latest middle grade book, Vega’s Piece of the Sky, a survival story about family, meteoroids, and unlikely friendships. Like Stef Soto, this is another SHORT middle grade book I totally enjoyed. Jenn and I talk about writing multiple POVs, writing a survival tale for the first time, and why family always makes an appearance in her stories.
Hi Jennifer, welcome to Reading Middle Grade! It’s such a pleasure to have you here. I’ve been a fan of your writing since I read Stef Soto, Taco Queen five years ago! Vega’s Piece of the Sky felt so different from Stef Soto and Griselda, with the touch of STEM. What inspired this story?
Thanks so much! I’m honored to be featured on Reading Middle Grade – I so appreciate all you do for books and readers.
I just finished re-reading Stef Soto, Taco Queen, coincidentally! It’s true that Vega’s Piece of the Sky is a bit different, but the first inspiration for it came even before Stef was published! On an April morning, back in 2012, a meteor crashed through Earth’s atmosphere above Sutter’s Mill in California, near where I was living, and in almost the same spot that the Gold Rush started in my home state more than 150 years earlier. I was fascinated by the number of people—scientists, professional meteorite hunters, curious locals—who came out to search the ground for meteorites. What was driving them? What would it mean to them to find a piece of the sky?
Scientists later learned that the Sutter’s Mill meteorite probably formed more than 4 billion years ago, and that it contains traces of the stardust out of which our solar system grew. I was captivated. So, that was the first spark.
This story has been with me for a long time and has taken many forms before it became this one about change and home and what we carry with us—whether through the years or across the universe. And although it’s different, I hope it has the same heart and love of community as Stef.
I loved the multiple POVs in this story and I liked being able to see how differently Mila, Vega, and Jasper think through their actions–especially Mila and Vega who are so different. Why did you choose a multiple-narrator set-up for this book?
As in so many treasure hunts, the treasure itself isn’t what these characters are really looking for. When I first started writing this book, the story was told solely from Vega’s point of view. As much as I adore Vega and her voice, her stubbornness (and, I think, deep-down her worry) as a character means that she isn’t able to understand right away the complicated experiences and anxieties that pull Jasper and Mila onto this hunt—what it is they’re really looking for. So that meant we’d need a way to see this adventure from their perspectives.
At first, I really wanted to get into Jasper’s head! He’s so capable and so caring. Then, Mila was always sort of quietly in the background. I wanted to pull her forward because I think, in some ways, her journey—what she’s setting out to prove—is the most challenging and takes the most bravery.
This story feels so adventurous with a survival element. Was this your first time writing in this genre? Do you enjoy reading survival fiction?
It was my first time writing in this genre! And it definitely required me to stretch. In early rounds of revision, my editors pushed me to actually put the characters in harm’s way, which I hadn’t realized I was avoiding!
I love stories about finding courage in unexpected places. While most of my books are not adventure stories, if there’s a thread that connects them, I hope it’s that. And while I don’t write a lot of survival fiction, I do enjoy reading it. These are stories that, on the one hand, challenge us to think about how we would respond in the face of great danger, risk, and loss—and on the other, remind us of our own inner strength and allow us to imagine ourselves overcoming obstacles that seem insurmountable
My favorite thing about all your stories is the way you weave in family and Latin-American culture. Is there a reason why this is always part of your work?
Thank you—that really means so much to me, and I’m so proud to know those themes are pulling through. I am Mexican-American, and as long as I am writing from the heart and writing what’s true to me, my culture and experience will always be at the core of my work.
Something I try to honor in writing for young people, and for middle grade readers in particular, is the potential for books and stories to help readers imagine new possibilities for themselves and to see the world in new dimensions. In Vega’s Piece of the Sky, I had the chance to show Latine people exploring questions about the universe and engaging in STEM fields (where, in real life, we are still underrepresented).
One of the inspirations was my youngest brother, Dr. Mark Torres, a geochemist whose perspective has helped me look at rocks and the Earth in new ways. I hope my book, in turn, helps to spark readers’ curiosity about the world around them and their own potential to help us understand it better.
My heart went out to Mila during this story as she tried to find her voice, despite being naturally timid. Which character would you say you were more like as a tween? Mila or Vega?
Oh, mine, too! It was sometimes tough not to write from a parent’s perspective in those moments when Mila’s anxiety and uncertainty felt most overwhelming. I’ve struggled with anxiety and, as a tween, was inclined toward shyness (and honestly, still am!), so I was writing from experience when writing about Mila’s whirling thoughts and the way they leave her both frightened and frustrated at times—but also when writing about the ways she reflects and quietly observes.
I would have loved some of Vega’s self-assurance as a tween! (And would have been surprised and maybe even reassured to realize some of her confidence is actually quite fragile). I was pretty crafty growing up, so I’d like to think I had some of Vega’s ability to see treasure and potential in unexpected places. Like both characters, I was fortunate to grow up with grandparents whose stories still inspire me.
As much as Vega’s name is on the title, this book feels like a book about all three kids. I have to admit, I wanted more at the end! Is there any chance we’ll get a sequel or companion to see how Mila and Jasper are doing?
That is so good to hear! I loved spending time with these characters, who turned out to have stronger and clearer voices and stories than I first imagined. You have definitely gotten me thinking about where they are now and what they might get up to next!
When we leave Jasper and Mila, both seem poised for new chapters and—just as importantly—have new friendships to help give them strength and support along the way. They also understand themselves and the people around them a little better. Even though Jasper is eager to settle into a more predictable life in Minnesota with his grandparents, I think part of him will still feel pulled toward the thrill of unexpected discovery. And Mila, of course, has a Space Science badge to work on and maybe a role in her mother’s political career as she continues to navigate friendships and finding her voice in middle school. I would love to check in with them (and with Vega too!)
What do you hope readers take away from Vega’s Piece of the Sky?
As Tata tells Vega, the people and places we come from stay with us and become part of our stories. I know this is not the case for everyone, but for some at least, that knowledge can be a source of strength and solace in times of change and uncertainty. I also hope this story leaves readers with a sense of wonder about the universe—that a rock at their feet might have traveled millions of miles or millions of years before landing there—and a sense of possibility. That real treasure is waiting to be discovered, maybe where they least expect it.
Is there anything else you wish I’d asked you?
Thank you for all of these incredible questions! It has been such a pleasure to step back and think through them. Something else I’d like to share is a little about the book’s setting. Vega’s Piece of the Sky takes place in a fictionalized town in a very real part of California, the Imperial Valley, where part of my family is from. In the story, Vega’s family runs a store called the Lone Star, which was inspired by a real market, also called the Lone Star, that my great-grandparents opened near Calexico—at the border of California and Mexico—when they first moved to the state. The real Lone Star is long gone. I never stepped foot in it. Nonetheless, it is a part of my story, a part of where I come from, and a part of what has made my life possible. Getting to uncover scraps of the Lone Star in newspaper clippings about special sales my great-grandparents were running or parties they hosted there—and then getting to bring the place back to life—was a very special part of writing this book for me.
Thank you, Jenn!
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About Jennifer Torres
Jennifer Torres is the award-winning author of Stef Soto, Taco Queen, the Bad Princesses series, the upcoming Vega’s Piece of the Sky, and other books for young readers. She writes stories about home, friendship, and unexpected courage inspired by her Mexican-American heritage. Jennifer started her career as a newspaper reporter, and even though she writes fiction now, she hopes her stories still have some truth in them. She lives with her family in Southern California
About Vega’s Piece of the Sky
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