Writer/mom digs into teens' world

Author Simone Elkeles may be a generation removed from adolescence, but she knows that, to write about young people, she has to navigate their world, no matter where the journey takes her.

That means occasionally hanging out at the skate park, connecting with teens via her Web site or MySpace page and even visiting a juvenile detention facility.

"I keep my eyes and ears open," she said. "I watch what they wear, their speech patterns, how they interact with each other."

Elkeles, a Buffalo Grove mother of two -- 10-year-old Samantha and seven-year-old Brett -- has three books out, and the fourth was recently sent to her publisher.

The titles themselves appear to resonate with her audience: "How to Ruin a Summer Vacation," "Leaving Paradise," and "How to Ruin My Teenage Life."

"Summer Vacation" recently placed third on the American Library Association's Teens' Top Ten list for 2007.

The home page on her Web site launches the viewer into a kid's bedroom -- a maze of posters, friends' photos, blogs, etc.

"So much of the teen experience is about firsts," she said. "First learning how to drive, first date, and so on. But they're totally passionate about what they believe."

Elkeles, who was a teen in the '80s, loves writing about teen relationships and romances, but admits that sometimes she has to learn new phrases to keep the dialogue in her books fresh.

" 'Grody' is an old expression," she said. "Kids might say now, 'I'm so not doing that.' Another one is 'weak sauce,' which some kids use in place of 'lame.' "

Elkeles also writes from her own experience, although none of her books is strictly autobiographical.

In her first book, "How to Ruin a Summer Vacation," she incorporated her own memories of summers spent in Israel into the mindset of an American teen whose estranged father insists she accompany him to Israel to meet his family.

Inspiration for her other books have come from less familiar sources.

"Leaving Paradise" was based on newspaper article about a stabbing incident at a high school.

"A girl was sent to jail and it wrenched my heart," Elkeles said. "I thought, 'What if she goes back to school to face the person she stabbed?' I tried to put myself in that position."

The novel tells the story of Caleb Becker, who is about to be released after serving a year at a juvenile detention facility. To get a feel for what it was like, Elkeles spent two hours in a juvenile complex in Vernon Hills, learning how the kids were treated and what was expected of them.

"Kids in the facility read the book and liked it," Elkeles said. "They said, 'How did you know about this?' "

For "Leaving Paradise" she didn't hold back on the language in the kids' dialogue, either. Four letter words, expressions, sexual situations -- they're all there. At book signings, Elkeles tells parents that it's edgy and she's OK with it if they don't buy it for their teens. "They say 'Thanks for telling me.' "

The working title for Elkeles' latest book, to be released in 2008 or 2009, is "Zero Tolerance."

To research for the novel, which tells the story of a Hispanic gang member who falls in love with a white girl, Elkeles made friends with kids in the Hispanic community and connected with people in Elgin to learn the culture, especially the vernacular.

"For example, for a girlfriend, a guy wouldn't refer to her as a 'chica,' " she explained. "He'd say 'mujer.' "

Elkeles started her writing career when her son was 6 months old.

"I was a stay-at-home mom," she said. "When you're a stay-at-home mom, what do you do? You can go to the mall or spend time reading. I read and thought, 'I can do this.'"

She joined the Romance Writers of America, and despite critiques from other writers, she enjoyed writing and started an adult novel. It was never published.

"It would have been easy to give up," she said. "I got so many rejections."

Then she tried aiming at the young adult audience. Friends reminded her that she had been to Israel. Why not write about those experiences? "How to Ruin a Summer Vacation" was the result.

The sequel, "How to Ruin My Teenage Life," came out after her second book, "Leaving Paradise."

In addition to writing and giving talks on the writing process and her experiences, Elkeles makes time for her duties as a hockey mom and Girl Scout leader.

Still, she says, "I love to write and being here when the kids get home. I'm gone a lot, but maybe here more than if I worked full time."

Elkeles' next book signing is from 4 to 6 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Barnes & Noble in Hawthorn Mall, Vernon Hills. To learn more about Elkeles' writing workshops, appearances, etc., visit www.simoneelkeles.net.