Authors Interviewing Characters: Elizabeth Harlan

Becoming Carly Klein

What if 15 year old Carly Klein could become a different person? What if instead of being a rebellious and unhappy student failing out of her uptight, private girls’ school in Manhattan, she could pose as a Barnard College sophomore and become the girlfriend of her psychiatrist mother’s blind patient, Daniel, a sexy senior at Columbia? Because Daniel can’t see her, Carly finds an ingenious way of making this happen. As Carly ramps up her passionate pursuit of Daniel, she takes us on a rollercoaster romp through the exhilaration as well as disappointment of first love and the unintended consequences of disguise, deception, and discovery.

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I catch up with Carly on campus at Allendale. The crises she experienced last year are behind her, and she’s enjoying a fresh start at her new school. Carly invites me to join her on the green in front of the main building, where kids are tossing around a frisbee that a bunch of rambunctious Shar-pei pups are trying to get hold of. 

We sit down on the grass under a maple tree emblazoned with fall color, and as Carly crosses her legs Indian style, I take note of her jeans stylishly ripped at the knees to kick off my interview.

EH:  I can’t help wondering how different it must feel now that you don’t have to wear a school uniform, Carly. Can you tell me about how boarding here at Allendale compares with your experience at Baxter in New York City?

CARLY:  I can tell you a whole heap of ways Allendale is different and so much better than Baxter was. First of all, Allendale is coed, which gives it a whole different vibe than a snobby, all-girls school like Baxter. And the dress code thing was a real downer. I remember being singled out by the headmistress one day for wearing a light yellow shirt instead of a white blouse, as though the color of one’s clothes was the most important thing in the world. 

EH:  Tell me some other ways in which Allendale is a more comfortable fit for you than Baxter was.

CARLY:  One of the things I always felt unhappy about was being an only child, and since the kids at Baxter were all pretty much stuck up or just a bunch of losers, I didn’t have many friends. But boarding here at Allendale makes us all feel like part of a big family. I especially love that the girls in my dorm and I get to hang out in pajamas and watch t.v. or just have fun together. 

EH:  Baxter’s not only an all-girls school with a strict dress code, it’s set in the middle of Manhattan, while Allendale is set on this beautiful, leafy campus in the rural Pennsylvania countryside. How does that difference play out?

CARLY:  I love it here in the country, where I always wanted to live. I never really liked being a city kid and used to daydream about what it would be like to live like the family in Little House on the Prairie. Country life with grass and trees all around feels so much freer and more natural than living in a great big city like New York, where there’s way too much cement and the buildings are so tall that you can never see the whole dome of the sky. I also like that Allendale has pets like those adorable Shar-peis playing frisbee over there with the kids. The pups belong to Mr. McAllister, who runs Allendale, but they’re allowed to come and go wherever they want, even in class, and sometimes they actually come inside the dorm with us.

EH:  Could you talk about how you’ve been able to work through some of the difficulties of the past year in order to get to what’s very clearly a much better place in your life?

CARLY:  It’s actually something I’ve been doing a lot of lately, looking back and trying to understand why I did the things I did that landed me in so much trouble. The guidance counselor here at Allendale’s been helping me make sense of the mess I made of my life. Actually, Ms Hepple doesn’t like when I call it a “mess.” Rather than blaming me, she wants me to be kind to myself and to accept that I behaved as I did because I couldn’t find another way to change my life. Ms. Hepple says our job is to give me a new set of tools to work with so I can get what I need without resorting to the devices I was using last year. 

EH:  Could you tell me about how these new tools are working for you?

CARLY:  I think forgiveness has a lot to do with it. I needed to forgive my parents for not giving me the kind of attention I wanted, and I needed to forgive myself for telling lies, both to my mom and dad and to Daniel. I’m learning that sometimes we do the wrong thing, not because we’re bad but because we’re trying to find a way to feel better. For example, even though I played hooky from Baxter and lied to my parents about what I was doing, I chose to attend class at Columbia and wrote a paper which made me like going to school. That paper, by the way, which I included in my application, was part of the reason I was accepted by Allendale. 

EH:  Well, you’ve certainly come a long way, Carly, not only from the city to the country, but also within yourself. Thank you for our interview, and I wish you continued success finding ways to feel better and to fully enjoy the wonderful life you’re making happen here at Allendale.

BUY BECOMING CARLY KLEIN HERE

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Elizabeth Harlan’s journey as an author is deeply rooted in the vibrant tapestry of New York City, where she spent her formative years and where Carly’s captivating story unfolds. A versatile writer, Harlan has crafted compelling narratives spanning young adult novels to probing literary biography tailored for adult readers. Her writing openly addresses themes that she has not only defended but celebrated as an integral and beautiful part of life.

At the heart of her work lies the poignant exploration of mother-daughter dynamics. Having mothered two children and grandmothered four grandchildren, despite the passage of time and the roles she has embraced, Harlan’s soul remains intertwined with young girls navigating the labyrinth of adolescence and struggling to grow out from under the oppressive yolk of mismothering.

Residing on the picturesque East End of Long Island and a bridgeless barrier island off Florida’s Gulf coast, Harlan draws inspiration from the diverse landscapes that surround her, infusing her prose with an evocative sense of place and emotion. Her stories resonate not only with authenticity but also with a profound understanding of the human experience, inviting readers to embark on transformative journeys of self-discovery and connection. For more information, visit her website: elizabethharlan.com.