Veteran Toronto television screenwriter Jennifer Cowan’s first full-length book, earthgirl, a young adult novel about contemporary teenagers, was recently published by Groundwood Books.
Jennifer Cowan, author of earthgirl
When 16-year-old Sabine Solomon is riding her bicycle in downtown Toronto, she has the remains of a McDonald’s lunch pelted at her by a woman idling in her minivan. The teenager’s angry reaction leads her to an epiphany about the ecological injustices in the world.
Reflective of the times we live in, her skirmish with the fast-food-throwing women in Kensington Market is immediately seen on YouTube, posted by of one of Sabine’s friends.
The subsequent events of the novel unfold through her eyes, primarily through her Internet blog posts.
Sabine’s personal revolution leads to changes in relationships with her family and her longtime materialistic friends. It also leads to her first love, an intimate relationship with Vray, a dedicated environmentalist and eco-warrior, that leads her along a dangerous and destructive road paved with good intentions.
In her newly discovered global consciousness of recycling and organic foods, pollution, consumerism and what she sees as injustices, her friends become her opponents and strangers become her friends with whom she communicates through her blog.
In her debut novel, Cowan entertains and educates about ecological issues and relationships.
“One of the unique aspects of the novel,” Cowan says, “is that the blog is active [sabinetheearthgirl.wordpress.com], so that readers can communicate with Sabine and follow her musings on the environment and popular culture.
“What I do is write on the blog in the character voice of Sabine and correspond with readers of all ages across Canada and the United States.”
Cowan is currently working on a sequel to earthgirl that will follow Sabine to university and explore her new-found independence and the concept of helicopter parents – the “hovering” generation that considers their children as their best buddies.
Cowan was writer and executive story editor for shows including Producing Parker, Show Me Yours and Traders. She has written multiple scripts and teen soaps including Edgemont, which won the 2004 Leo Award for best screenwriting in a youth or children’s series. She was also a 2004 Gemini Award nominee and received recognition for many other shows including the teen series Ready or Not.
Cowan has produced arts, pop culture and entertainment magazine programs and documentaries for CBC, CTV, TVOntario and Citytv.
The focus on computer communication through website links, blogging, Facebook, Twitter and other communication highways adds a sense of reality to the fiction and should make it more relevant to the young readers it targets. It may also be an eye-opener for their parents in some cases.
For young people and adults, earthgirl opens many areas of discussion about how far we want to go to save the world, as well as about peer pressures and the power of instant communications.
Cowan will appear at the International Festival of Authors on Friday, Oct. 30, at 10:30 a.m. at Harbourfront Centre.
