I think sometimes we can put a lot of pressure on our self that this has to be perfect and I think sometimes it’s okay if there are imperfections, because also as you’re going through the editing process after, you’re going to clean it up and if there are holes you can fill those,” Douglas said. “There’s not a great risk of picking the wrong way to get there. She also brought up the importance of reading and encouraged the students to always make time to read. She told the students there were times in the past that she used to hide her creativity and quirkiness, but finally she decided to just be herself in every setting and encouraged them to do the same.

(Callie Jones/Sterling Journal-Advocate)ĭuring one small group session, she spoke about letting your creativity show, sharing that her creativity has been positively and not so positively received depending on the people she works with and is interacting with.

One student created a small trunk with outfits worn by Cassi, the main character in “Callasandra Fractured,” during different points in the book and explained the significance of the outfits. Her visit to SMS, which was funded by the RE-1 Valley Foundation, Inc., included small group discussions with each eighth grade class, a full grade level presentation and lunch with language arts teachers. Eighth grade language arts teacher Marybeth Skerjanec emailed Douglas questions related to the novel with the small hope of Douglas or staff answering and after many correspondences between the two, Douglas thought it would be quite an experience to meet the students. SMS eighth graders have been reading and studying the novel for their curriculum selection of the dystopian genre. A dangerous secret and enemies everywhere, Cassi becomes Callasandra and must find the strength and courage to fight for her life and the ones she loves. Students at Sterling Middle School got writing tips, learned about the process to get a book published and were treated to some inside information about the latest book author Stephanie Douglas is working on, Wednesday when the author spent the day at the school.ĭouglas is the author of “Callasandra Fractured,” a young dystopian novel about a 16-year-old girl named Cassi who, when disaster hits and a dark family secret is revealed, must come to terms with the terrible realization that nothing is as it seems. The projects were on display when author Stephanie Douglas visited the school Wednesday, Jan. After reading “Callasandra Fractured” Sterling Middle School students were tasked with creating a book report mobile with 10 symbols and characters that they felt were important in the book and providing support for why they chose them.

Callasandra by Stephanie Douglas