Jablonski, Carla

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Jablonski, Carla

Personal

Female. Education: Vassar College, B.S. (anthropology); New York University, M.A.

Addresses

Career

Writer, editor, actress, and trapeze artist. Consulting editor for publishers; freelance writer; editorial consultant and copywriter.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

Home Sweet Homer (based on Wishbone television series), Big Red Chair Books (Allen, TX), 1998.

Legend of Sleepy Hollow (based on Wishbone television series), Lyrick Publishing (Allen, TX), 1998.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (based on Wishbone television series), Little Red Chair Books (Allen, TX), 1999.

(With Anne Capeci and Brad Strickland) The Wishbone Halloween Adventure (based on Wishbone television series), Lyrick Publishing (Allen, TX), 2000.

The Gypsy Enchantment (based on Charmed television series), Pocket Pulse (New York, NY), 2001.

Esther Dyson: Web Guru (biography), Twenty-first Century Books (Brookfield, CT), 2002.

The Children's Crusade (based on "The Book of Magic" graphic-novel series by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton), Eos (New York, NY), 2003.

Bindings (based on "The Book of Magic" graphic-novel series by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton), Eos (New York, NY), 2003.

The Invitation (based on "The Book of Magic" graphic-novel series by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton), Eos (New York, NY), 2003.

Shadow of the Sphinx (based on Charmed television series), Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2003.

Van Helsing: The Junior Novel (movie novelization), Harper Festival (New York, NY), 2004.

Lost Places (based on "The Book of Magic" graphic-novel series by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton), Eos (New York, NY), 2004.

Reckonings (based on "The Book of Magic" graphic-novel series by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton), Eos (New York, NY), 2004.

Consequences (based on "The Book of Magic" graphic-novel series by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton), Eos (New York, NY), 2004.

Thicker than Water, Razorbill (New York, NY), 2006.

Silent Echoes, Razorbill (New York, NY), 2007.

Author of script for children's musical, My New York.

Sidelights

Carla Jablonski did not realize that she wanted to be a writer until she found out that she already was one. "Actually, being a writer never occurred to me!," she admitted during an online interview for Teens Read Too. Jablonski grew up in New York City and studied anthropology in college. During graduate school, she worked part-time as an editor for the "Hardy Boys" novels, a job that led to freelance assignments writing tie-in novels based on popular television shows such as Wishbone and Charmed. In her twenties she also developed a more unusual skill: learning to be a trapeze artist.

In addition to her television tie-ins, Jablonski has also written several novels based on "The Book of Magic," a popular graphic-novel series by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton. Beginning with The Invitation, the series follows young Tim Hunter as he develops into a powerful magician in order to protect himself from those hunting him. Tim Wadham, reviewing the adaptation in School Library Journal, wrote that "kids hungry for fantasy" would enjoy the title.

In Thicker than Water, Jablonski's first original novel for teens, Kia is coping badly with her mother's failing health; meanwhile, the teen is unable to connect with her single dad. Giving into depression, Kia starts cutting herself, but this only makes her feel like more of an outcast. When she finds a group of teens who roleplay as vampires, Kia believes that she has found a place where she can fit in. However, as Kia spends more time with the group, especially the attractive Damon, she begins to wonder whether vampires might be real after all. "Jablonski deals with serious issues, including the search for reality," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Jennifer Mattson, reviewing Thicker than Water in Booklist, noted that while some of the story

seemed strained, Jablonski's "storytelling prompts intriguing contemplation of the allure of rituals and cults."

Jablonski takes readers back to the nineteenth century in Silent Echoes. The novel's heroine, Lucy, is a scam spiritualist whose father manages to cash in on her celebrity psychic act. When Lucy hears an actual voice during one of her sessions, she realizes that she has a real ability to connect with the spirits: in this case that of a modern teen named Lindsay. For her part, Lindsay fears she is going crazy, but even after she is diagnosed with schizophrenia, she continues to hear Lucy's voice. While Lucy uses the psychic connection to make a fortune, when she realizes that Lindsay needs her help she determines to do something to affect the future. Reviewing the novel, Kristin Anderson wrote in School Library Journal that Silent Echoes is "all good fun, and if readers leave more knowledgeable about the early women's movement in the United States, all the better." In her Booklist review, Ilene Cooper noted that Jablonski "cleverly twines the girls' lives and makes plausible not only how they have come into contact but also why."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Back Stage East, October 5, 2006, "My New York," p. 31.

Booklist, February 1, 2006, Jennifer Mattson, review of Thicker than Water, p. 44; March 1, 2007, Ilene Cooper, review of Silent Echoes, p. 74.

Book Report, November-December, 2002, Patricia Beddoe, "Techies," p. 53.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2005, review of Thicker than Water, p. 1323.

Kliatt, January, 2007, Claire Rosser, review of Silent Echoes, p. 14.

Publishers Weekly, September 27, 1999, "PBS Puppy in New Book Series," p. 107; May 12, 2003, "More Fun for Fans," p. 69.

School Library Journal, August, 2003, Tim Wadham, review of The Invitation, p. 161; April, 2006, Karyn N. Silverman, review of Thicker than Water, p. 141; March, 2007, Kristin Anderson, review of Silent Echoes, p. 212.