7. SR: Why do you want an adolescent to read your books? Perhaps, if you do not write with this objective in mind, what is your purpose?
CC: My purpose is one thing and one thing only; to tell a good story. I don't care who reads it.
8. SR: What do your books say about Chris Crutcher as a human being? An author? What do you want your readers to know about you?? I don't have any idea what they say about me as a human being. Probably not a lot. It's a lot easier to manage a story than it is a life. I don't want my readers to know anything specifically about me; what I want them to know is my stories. I'm sure my stories are the better part of me.
9. SR: Most of your books highlight male characters. Why is this gender and age group such a hard group to reach?
CC: I'm not sure. I think boys in general have a period when they're not as introspective, and reading can be a pretty introspective thing. I think they come to that point a little later. As a culture we do not value reading for boys; not that we bad mouth it, but we push sports and action, etc. a lot more. The truth is, you write a good story and boys will read it. I wouldn't worry about it too much as a parent or teacher. I think it comes later in a lot of cases. It did with me.
10. SR: What is your opinion, if any, of the state of public education today?
CC: I think it's in a sorry state. The No Child Left Behind nonsense is hurting us all, and even before that, no one will listen to what educators have been saying forever; that class sizes need to be small enough for teachers to develop relationships with students. The one thing kids tell me over and over is if they like a teacher, they will work harder in his/her class. It's too impersonal, and most of the people who make policy know almost nothing about child development, which is the one thing they should be absolute experts on if they want to succeed.
11. SR: What is your opinion of the state of children's (young adult) publishing
