Crissa-Jean Chappell - ProfilesArchive

About Me

"With her parents' divorce coming not long after her family's move to Miami, ninth-grader Fin finds stability only through the rhythm of counting and the voices in her head that establish order. Finding herself isolated from the high school world around her, and disliked by fellow students who find her behavior strange, Fin finds solace when she meets Thayer, a boy with learning disabilities, whose world seems to be a lot like hers. With the help of free-spirited Thayer and a sympathetic therapist, the girl is able to make sense of her life. Chappell's first novel is a brave attempt to explore the world of a teenager ravaged by both obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. Fin's struggle with both the drug Paxil and her troubled mother is a telling revelation of the recurrence of these diseases through generations. Likable characters and an intense pace make this a good purchase for most collections."
--School Library Journal
"What will hold readers are the witty observations of the high-school caste system, whether they focus on peers ("Never take credit. Put yourself down before someone else does") or teachers ("Memorize their ideas. But make them sound like your own"). Readers, especially those stuck with their own annoying rituals, will recognize the anger, the anxiety, and the longing for escape."
--Booklist
Flip through Fin's photos, drawings, and diary entries here.

My Interests

I was born and raised in the "real" Miami...way down south...surrounded by vine-shrouded oaks and Quaker parrots in a wooden house in the jungle.

I write things:

My debut YA novel --TOTAL CONSTANT ORDER-- is now available from

HarperCollins.

I love teaching film and creative writing classes at the Art Institute downtown.

Drop me a line at CRISSAJEANCHAPPELL.COM or join me on LIVEJOURNAL.

Subscribe to my blog about the crazy business of writing

Visit my virtual photo album on FLICKR.

Myspace Graphics
Myspace Layouts

I'd like to meet:

.. ..

Music:

LISTENING:Aphex Twin, Secret Frequency Crew, Caribou, Interpol, Ninja Tune, Dublab, Warp records, Gilles Peterson, Bloc Party, The Blow, modal Jazz, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, DJ Shadow, Arcade Fire, Bjork, Autechre, Boards of Canada, Ratatat, The Postal Service, Air, old school REM, Dabrye, Four Tet, Prefuse 73, the Shins, Semifinalists, Solvent, the Knife, Sigur Ros, Madlib, architecture in helsinki, The Go! Team, Belle and Sebastian, DJ Cam, DJ Krush, Tipper, Mum, Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, leonard cohen, the Decemberists, The Radio Dept.

Movies:

WATCHING:David Gordon Green, Wes Anderson, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Jim Jarmusch, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, French New Wave, Wong Kar-wai, Ang Lee and James Schamus, Bernardo Bertolucci, Peter Greenaway, Coen brothers, Vincent Gallo, Hayao Miyazaki, P.T. Anderson, Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Sophia Coppola, Charlie Kaufman, cedric klapisch

Television:

Yeah, I'm a sucker for reality TV...anything pretending to be cinema-verite...and the documentary channel called Current.

Books:

READING: Martin Clarke, Rachel Cohn, Stephen Chbosky, Megan McCafferty, Jonathan Lethem, Cintra Wilson, Elwood Reid, KL Going, Louisa Luna, John Dufresne, dead French guys, Margaret Atwood, Anne Tyler, Mary Karr, Rick Moody, Jane Hamilton, Steve Almond, E. Annie Proulx, Blake Nelson, Sarah Dessen, Tom Perrotta, Julianna Baggott, Zoe Trope, J. Robert Lennon, Diablo Cody, Brian James...too many to mention

My Blog

these boots were made for...

I don't own a pair of cowboy boots. But when I was learning to two-step, I clomped around in these tan leather lovelies. Now they fit in the palm of my hand.1. I need a new pair because I'm headed to ...
Posted by Crissa-Jean Chappell on Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:57:00 PST

Total Constant Order: Book Tour

In this charming little diary of blank pages, I've begun to scribble in the first lines...For the nitty gritty details...go to this page or check the tour updates on my website....
Posted by Crissa-Jean Chappell on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:17:00 PST

tco contest winners

"Wabi-sabi is flea markets, not warehouse stores; aged wood, not Pergo; rice paper, not glass. It celebrates cracks and crevices and all the other marks that time, weather, and loving use leave behind...
Posted by Crissa-Jean Chappell on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:13:00 PST

Booklist review

...another cool review. This one's from Booklist. The last part makes me smile:"What will hold readers are the witty observations of the high-school caste system, whether they focus on peers ("Never t...
Posted by Crissa-Jean Chappell on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:13:00 PST

orlando ghosts

Last night a train whistle lulled me to sleep. I walked the tracks with my friend, Jackieshe in her striped knee-highs and Mary Janes, me in my winter boots and wool coat. I took pictures of the "hau...
Posted by Crissa-Jean Chappell on Wed, 16 Jan 2008 03:22:00 PST

Coral Gables Living magazine

click above
Posted by Crissa-Jean Chappell on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:18:00 PST

school library journal review

...my first review from School Library Journal. "With her parents' divorce coming not long after her family's move to Miami, ninth-grader Fin finds stability only through the rhythm of counting and th...
Posted by Crissa-Jean Chappell on Sat, 12 Jan 2008 07:01:00 PST

CONTEST (free stuff!)

..In Total Constant Order, Fin learns to channel her obsessive energy into street art.Street art is defined as "any art developed in public spaces that is, "in the streets."This includes:tagsmuralss...
Posted by Crissa-Jean Chappell on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:27:00 PST

character sketch

Some authors keep photos near their desk. Some fill pages in a notebook. But when I'm working on new characters, I like to draw them. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------...
Posted by Crissa-Jean Chappell on Mon, 07 Jan 2008 04:11:00 PST

river of grass

In the Everglades, Mama Gators keep watch in mud-colored water. Their eyes rise like periscopes, checking us out as we bump along in our airboat. The motor rumbles like hornets, but I block it out, st...
Posted by Crissa-Jean Chappell on Fri, 28 Dec 2007 06:08:00 PST