Author Annabel Lyon touches on Down syndrome and teenage angst in ‘Edie’ sequel

TORONTO – Acclaimed B.C. author Annabel Lyon has a few things in common with the quirky teenage protagonist in "Encore Edie," her new novel for young readers that hits stores Tuesday.

Like Edie, a whip-smart 13-year-old who’s now entering high school, Lyon grew up in the drizzly suburban landscape of Coquitlam, B.C.

The two also share a love of literature and writing.

And, like Edie, Lyon has a relative with Down syndrome – her brother, who is three years older.

"When I was growing up, I never read a book about somebody with a sibling who had Down syndrome and it’s something that would’ve been really interesting to me because that definitely was a part of my life," said Lyon, who won the 2009 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize for her bestselling debut novel, "The Golden Mean."

"Certainly when you grow up with someone like that, especially when you’re a kid still, there’s that kind of awkwardness and there’s a combination of love and guilt and shame and not knowing, especially when you’re trying to be cool in high school and all that.

"I really felt that that was something that I knew really intimately and I could talk to kids about really directly."

A sequel to Lyon’s 2008 novel "All-Season Season Edie," in which the protagonist is 11 and deals with the death of her grandfather, "Encore Edie" sees her trying to fit in with the cool kids in high school.

She’s also grappling with the changing dynamics between her and her family members, including cousin Merry, who has Down syndrome and whom she has to walk home from school every day.

"Merry’s the best audience ever; she laughs at everything I do," Edie muses in the book. "But as we get closer to the school, I can feel the other kids staring at us."

Lyon said she hopes the Merry storyline will "speak with other kids who maybe had someone like that in the family and felt all those conflicting emotions and didn’t know entirely how to deal with them."

"Just even to be able to say, ‘Yeah, you’re not alone, there are other people dealing with this too,"’ she added recently by phone from her home in New Westminster, B.C.

Lyon started writing "Encore Edie" while she was penning "The Golden Mean," which is told in the voice of Greek philosopher Aristotle.

She said it was a nice break from writing about war in ancient Greece. "I almost feel like I’m using a different part of my brain, it’s so fun.

"There’s a kind of joyfulness and looseness and relaxed kind of quality to the children’s writing that I really enjoy as a break from the adult writing."

As with "All-Season Edie," in which the title character becomes engrossed in "Macbeth," Lyon also added a Shakespeare element to the new book.

This time, Edie signs up for the school musical and ends up writing and directing a modern-day musical production of "King Lear."

Helping Edie with the play is her edgy new friend, Regan, whose rocky relationship with her dad parallels the story in "King Lear" (not to mention she shares the same name as one of the king’s daughters).

Regan even displays subtle signs that she has a bit of a crush on Edie, and Lyon admitted she tried to keep that element of their friendship "very much in the background."

She does, however, want to further explore Regan and Edie’s relationship in a third and final "Edie" book.

"There grows to be a bond between them that I don’t think Edie has any words for," said Lyon, who has two children, ages 5 and 3.

"I’m not sure … if they’re going to end up being girlfriends or if they’re just going to be friends or what."

Lyon is also writing a sequel to "The Golden Mean," which was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Literary Award. It’s now on the long list for the IMPAC Dublin award (the short list comes out in April).

The new novel will focus on Aristotle’s daughter and is tentatively scheduled for publication in 2013, she said.

"I wanted to do a female book to be a counterpoint to the very male book that ‘The Golden Mean’ is," said Lyon.

"I wanted to look at the same period but look at the female side of things and the slaves in the kitchens and all that sort of thing. … But I’m in the middle of it right now so I can’t tell you too much, too coherently how it’s all going to end up."