Why a 14-year-old detective doesn't need car keys
Updated: 28 minutes ago
Every author has that one never-forgotten piece of feedback. Mine came from an acquisitions editor who flipped through my Julie Mitchell Mysteries proposal, looked up, and said, “A 14‑year‑old detective without a driver’s license? How’s she supposed to get around and solve anything?”
I blinked at her in chagrin. Of all the questions I was prepared to answer, that was one I never saw coming. I knew it wasn’t a problem—but in the moment, I couldn’t think how to explain it.
Hundreds of pages later, I remember that encounter and want to laugh. Because Julie Mitchell gets around just fine, thanks to the everyday transportation that makes the Philippines wonderfully navigable for teens. Below is a quick fare summary to show how easily—and cheaply—Julie can chase clues without ever needing car keys. These are methods my high school friends and I used constantly. And yes, all on a teenager's allowance!
The editor’s question came from imagining an underage driver in suburban USA. But Julie Mitchell—like my teenage self—is a Third Culture Kid in Southeast Asia. When I write, I use very little imagination to get her from A to B. I simply draw from experience. And believe me, it’s easier to get around without a driver’s license in the Philippines than here in the States.
Which leads to one of my favorite arguments for reading outside our own cultural experience: if we don’t, we end up thinking inside a very small box. And sometimes that box is shaped like a four‑door sedan.
*Lauren, Eric, and Carly are Julie's friends. Find out more!
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