~~STORY SPOILERS BELOW~~
If you haven’t read The Parents With A Sleepover Secret yet, please stop reading this blog post because I’m going to spoil the story’s ending…
Okay, let’s start! The story features Detective Mya Dove. She investigates the school bully Angel’s parents at a sleepover. After a thorough investigation, Mya reveals that Angel’s dad lost his job but felt too scared to give Angel the bad news. Angel’s parents argued so much because losing his job means their lives have changed in a big way.
What inspired the story?
First, I remembered when my parents used to argue and how much it upset me. I didn’t understand that sometimes parents argue just like kids.
Second, I was inspired by adults who can’t cope with giving kids bad news. They tell stories instead of telling the truth because they don’t want children to be upset. I wanted to show that the outcome could have been so different if the adults had been honest in the first place.
The School Pet Who Went Missing addresses the same issue in a different way. Both stories show what happens when adults avoid telling the truth. The children involved try to guess what the problem is, but they guess wrong. It makes such a big mess of the situation!
Why do parents argue sometimes?
There are several reasons why parents argue including having a new baby, lack of safe/big enough housing, and financial problems. In the book, Angel’s parents argue because without her dad’s large income, they can’t afford their massive house, cars, swimming pool and other fancy stuff anymore. For the first time in Angel’s life, they’ll have to spend less money.
What’s coming up next?
I wanted to share what inspired The Parents With A Sleepover Secret, a story about parents who argue. The next book I’ll discuss will be The Fat Girl Who Never Eats. If you want to know what inspired that story, sign up to my mailing list for future updates.