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WORK TITLE: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.dustibowling.com/
CITY: Carefree
STATE: AZ
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Arizona; married; children: three.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and novelist.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona, Dusti Bowling was an avid reader. “Books were my friends, my family, my entertainment, my therapy,” Bowling noted in an interview with School Library Journal Online contributor Karen Yingling, referring to a difficult time during her childhood when her parents got divorced. Later on in life, Bowling tried various careers before realizing that she wanted to be a writer. The author of several self-published books aimed at a teenage audience, Bowling made her middle-grade novel debut with Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, about a teenager named Aven who was born without arms.
Bowling’s interest in people without arms began after a cousin serving in Iraq lost an eye and was going to lose an arm as well. As a result, Bowling started to do research on people without limbs. Her cousin, however, died, and Bowling discontinued her interest. A video of an armless bodybuilder viewed years later rekindled Bowling’s desire to learn more about people without limbs. Commenting on the inspiration for her novel in an interview with School Library Journal Online contributor Yingling, Bowling noted that she had seen a a video of woman without arms “who did everything with her feet,” from caring for her baby to driving to lifting weights. Bowling went on to tell Yingling: “I thought about her a long time afterward until Aven started to form in my mind. When I decided to finally write this story, I found there wasn’t a whole lot written specifically about people without arms, but there were some really great videos online.” A series of videos on YouTube by a woman who went by Tisha Unarmed especially impressed Bowling. “The more I watched Tisha’s videos, the more I realized just how capable Aven would be,” Bowling noted in the School Library Journal Online interview, adding that Tisha as well as the armless bodybuilder who lived near Bowling eventually reviewed a draft of the book to determine if Bowling had handled the character of Aven correctly. She received positive feedback from both.
In Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Aven Green has moved from Kansas to Arizona after her father lands a job as manager of a theme park called the Stagecoach Pass. Like most teenagers, Aven finds the move challenging, but she is facing the extra burden of explaining to her schoolmates her lack of arms, which is due to a rare genetic disorder. The stares and questions she faces make Aven miss her old home, but she fortunately is optimistic by nature and has a good sense of humor. These attributes keep “her looking for the silver linings in her new life,” noted Evelyn Khoo Schwartz in School Library Journal.
Throughout the book Bowling not only highlights Aven’s positive attitude but also addresses the stereotypes people with disabilities must endure. “Bowling hopes that they might feel validated by seeing an aspect of themselves represented,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. Bowling includes other characters with disabilities, including Aven’s best friend, Connor, who has Tourette’s syndrome. Bowling also researched this syndrome for the book and could relate to the character because her husband and children have similar disorders.
In the novel, Aven’s “can-do” attitude is highlighted by the mysterious happenings at the run-down theme park her dad manages. Things keep going missing, from a photograph and a necklace to tarantulas. Aven decides that she is going to find out just exactly what is going on. The book’s “portrayal of characters with rarely depicted disabilities is informative, funny, and supportive,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. A reviewer writing for Publishers Weekly remarked: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus shows “how negotiating others’ discomfort can be one of the most challenging aspects of having a physical difference.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, August 1, 2017, John Peters, review of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, p. 61.
Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2017, review of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus.
Publishers Weekly, May 15, 2017, “Dusti Bowling: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Bowling’s Middle Grade Novel about a Girl Born without Arms, Looks beyond Disability into the Complex Inner Life of a Teen Whose Life is Changing Rapidly,” p. S89; June 19, 2017, review of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, p. 112.
School Library Journal, May, 2017, Evelyn Khoo Schwartz, review of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, p. 78.
ONLINE
Dusti Bowling Website, https://www.dustibowling.com (January 9, 2018).
School Library Journal Online, http://www.slj.com/ (September 20, 2017), Karen Yingling, “Chatting with Dusti Bowling, Author of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus.”
About Dusti
DUSTI BOWLING grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, where, as her family will tell you, she always had her nose in a book. But it wasn’t until after starting down a couple of different career paths that Dusti realized her true passion was writing. She currently lives in Carefree, Arizona with her husband, three daughters, one bobcat, a pack of coyotes, a couple of chuckwallas, several rattlesnakes, and a few herds of javelina
DUSTI BOWLING grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, where, as her family will tell you, she always had her nose in a book. But it wasn’t until after starting down a couple of different career paths that Dusti realized her true passion was writing. She currently lives in Carefree, Arizona with her husband, three daughters, one bobcat, a pack of coyotes, a couple of chuckwallas, several rattlesnakes, and a few herds of javelina.
Dusti’s debut middle grade novel INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF A CACTUS is now available. Her second middle grade novel, 24 HOURS IN NOWHERE, will be released in 2018. Follow her on Twitter @Dusti_Bowling.
Chatting with Dusti Bowling, Author of “Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus”
By Karen Yingling on September 20, 2017 3 Comments
In Dusti Bowling’s Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus (Sterling; 2017), which recently garnered an SLJ star review, protagonist Aven Green moves from Kansas to Arizona when her dad takes a job as the manager of the Stagecoach Pass theme park. Moving to a new place is challenging for any kid; for Aven, it comes with the added weight of having to explain her, as she puts it, “lack of armage.” Aven was born without arms and navigates everyday tasks using her feet. We recently spoke with Bowling about her inspiration for the story, how she worked with sensitivity readers, and her deep love for the natural environment of the American Southwest.
Aven was born without arms, and this is a major focus of the book and a great addition to booksdescribing children facing physical challenges. What was your research process for telling Aven’s story with as much accuracy and authenticity as you did?
I’ll have to go back a little to what inspired me to create Aven in the first place. Several years ago, I saw a video of a woman taking care of her baby, driving, and working out. She didn’t have arms and did everything with her feet. I thought about her a long time afterward until Aven started to form in my mind. When I decided to finally write this story, I found there wasn’t a whole lot written specifically about people without arms, but there were some really great videos online. I found a woman on YouTube who goes by Tisha Unarmed and makes interesting videos about how she does everyday things without arms. The more I watched Tisha’s videos, the more I realized just how capable Aven would be. After writing my story, I reached out to Tisha and asked her if she would be willing to read my manuscript for authenticity. I was so relieved she loved the story. Then a little while later, I found out, through some pretty wild coincidence, that the woman in the original video I saw was Barbie Thomas, an armless bodybuilder who lived right in my own city. I reached out to her and she also agreed to read my story. I’m thrilled to say that she loved it as well. I think the only way I could have possibly ensured the authenticity of this story was through these important sensitivity readings. Having Tisha’s and Barbie’s support really gave me the confidence to share this story with the world.
Your previous books were aimed at a more teen audience. What was it about Aven’s story that made you choose a middle grade voice?
The more I thought about who Aven was and what I wanted her storyline to be, the more I felt this book would be most beneficial to a middle grade audience. Something about Aven’s personality just made me fall into this naturally humorous middle grade voice that I don’t think would work as well for a YA novel. As I wrote the story, I realized everything about it suited a middle grade audience best: the silly humor, the issues Aven was dealing with, the way the characters behaved, the clean content (not at all edgy or dealing with darker themes), the quirky setting. I loved writing in this slightly younger voice.
The “default setting” for middle grade seems to be the Midwest, with New York and California settings being the expected “exciting” setting. The Arizona setting adds so much to your book. What factors do you think really define the U.S. Southwest?
Author Dusti Bowling as a young reader. Photo credit: Dusti Bowling.
I love the Southwest. I was born and raised in Arizona. I moved away as an adult for several years, but I couldn’t wait to come back. I think one of the things that defines the Southwest (and Arizona more specifically) is the amazing landscape you can only find here. Arizona must have the most diverse array of landscapes in the U.S. of any state, from the Sonoran Desert to the red rocks of Sedona to the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, and many gorgeous canyons (I could go on and on). You can be in a hundred degree desert, then drive a half hour and be in the cool pines of Mt. Lemmon or Flagstaff. I’ve heard people refer to the “brown Southwest” or the “barren Southwest,” but the Southwest is anything but barren, especially when you consider the unique wildlife that lives here. I’ve met so many people who assume nothing lives in the desert (except rattlesnakes and scorpions), but the desert is absolutely teeming with life. In my yard alone, we have adorable quail families, roadrunners, cardinals, hummingbirds, rabbits, several species of snakes and lizards, kangaroo mice, javelina, deer, and even a bobcat who comes around regularly. We did once have a rattlesnake, and we do find scorpions frequently, so those are definitely out there, too. And of course, the Southwest wouldn’t be the Southwest without the Mexican and Native American cultures that have strongly influenced everything around us: food, clothing, architecture, and festivals. The Heard Museum in Phoenix is easily one of the greatest Native American museums in the U.S. and worth a visit to Arizona alone. I’ve been all over this continent and Europe, and there is nowhere like the Southwest.
Aven’s best friend has Tourette Syndrome. Depicting a Tourette support group was a great way to show that there are a lot of different manifestations of this syndrome. What do you hope readers take away from your depiction?
There are a lot of misconceptions about Tourette syndrome, most especially that it is all about people shouting cuss words. I actually included a child at the support meetings whose Tourette’s manifests itself in this way (though he shouts words that aren’t profane), so that people who read this book would understand that that form of Tourette’s does in fact exist, but it is rare (and it’s not even always cuss words the person says). I hope readers understand from reading this book that Tourette’s is not something a person can control, that they are not doing it for attention, and that it can be extremely embarrassing and painful. I hope they take away empathy and the desire to reach out to fellow classmates with tic disorders, to let them know that Hey, it’s okay. We know you can’t help it.
Who were you as a middle grade reader? What were some of your favorite books?
I was a very introverted middle grade reader. I discovered my love of middle grade books around third grade, when I was going through some difficult times in my childhood (including my parents divorcing). I lost myself in these stories. Books were my friends, my family, my entertainment, my therapy. They were everything to me during that time. I must have read two to three books daily from third grade until sixth grade. I was never seen without a book in my hand and often got in trouble for reading during class. I read through all of the “Babysitter’s Club,” “Sweet Valley High,” and “Nancy Drew.” But I’ll never forget how Where the Red Fern Grows made me cry my eyes out. I think it was the first book to make me cry, and it was very cathartic. I don’t know what I would have done during that time in my life if I hadn’t had books.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
John Peters
Booklist.
113.22 (Aug. 1, 2017): p61+.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
* Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. By Dusti Bowling. Sept. 2017. 272p. Sterling, $14.95
(9781454923459); e-book, $9.99 (9781454923466). Gr. 5-8.
A move to dusty, distant Arizona forces 13-year-old Aven to leave her familiar life and friends behind.
Don't yawn: Bowling takes this overworked trope and spins it into gold with a skein of terrific twists. For
one thing, Aven was born without arms, so the new environment--a decrepit Wild West theme park--poses
special challenges. For another, thanks to loving, funny adoptive parents who have raised her to be a
"problem-solving ninja" ("I'm so flexible, it would blow your mind," she boasts), readers may repeatedly
forget, despite reminders enough, that Aven is (as she puts it) "unarmed." Moreover, when the dreary
prospect of having to cope with the looks and questions at her new middle school sends her in search of an
isolated place to eat her lunch, she finds and bonds with Conner, who is struggling with Tourette's syndrome
and has not been so lucky with his parents. Not only does she firmly enlist him and another new friend in
investigating a mystery about the theme park's past but, taking Conner's involuntary vocalizations in stride
(literally), Aven drags him (figuratively) into an information-rich Tourette's support group. Following
poignant revelations about Aven's birth family, the author lets warm but not gooey sentiment wash over the
close to a tale that is not about having differences, but accepting them in oneself and others.--John Peters
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Peters, John. "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus." Booklist, 1 Aug. 2017, p. 61+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A501718901/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=4418a7cd.
Accessed 27 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A501718901
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Bowling, Dusti: INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS
IN THE LIFE OF A CACTUS
Kirkus Reviews.
(July 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Bowling, Dusti INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF A CACTUS Sterling (Children's Fiction)
$14.95 9, 5 ISBN: 978-1-4549-2345-9
Born without arms, white "problem-solving ninja" Aven Green can do almost anything with her feet
instead--even solve a mystery. "Now that I'm thirteen years old, I don't need much help with anything. True
story." Aven's adoptive parents have always encouraged her independence. She's never felt self-conscious
among her friends in Kansas, playing soccer and guitar and mischievously spinning wild yarns about losing
her arms. But when her father suddenly gets a job managing Stagecoach Pass, a run-down theme park in
Arizona, tales of alligator wrestling can't stop her new classmates' gawking. Making friends with Connor, a
self-conscious white boy with Tourette's syndrome, and Zion, a shy, overweight, black boy, allows her to
blend in between them. Contrasted with the boys' shyness, Aven's tough love and occasional insensitivity
provide a glimpse of how--and why--attitudes toward disability can vary. While investigating the park's
suspiciously absent owner, the kids discover clues with eerie ties to Aven. The mystery's twist ending is
somewhat fairy-tale-esque, but Connor's Tourette's support-group meetings and Aven's witty, increasingly
honest discussions of the pros and cons of "lack of armage" give the book excellent educational potential.
Though much of this earnest effort reads like an after-school special, its portrayal of characters with rarely
depicted disabilities is informative, funny, and supportive. (Fiction. 9-13)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Bowling, Dusti: INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF A CACTUS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July
2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A497199612/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=475321fa. Accessed 27 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A497199612
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Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
Publishers Weekly.
264.25 (June 19, 2017): p112.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
Dusti Bowling. Sterling, $14.95 (272p) ISBN 978-1-4549-2345-9
Thirteen-year-old Aven Green, the heroine of Bowling's sensitive and funny novel, was born without arms
due to a rare genetic condition. When her adoptive parents take jobs at an Arizona theme park, Aven leaves
behind her comfortable social life, starting over with new peers and teachers to stare at her. After days of
self-consciously eating her lunches in a bathroom stall at school (she eats with her feet), Aven opens up to
two students: Connor, who has Tourette's syndrome, and Zion, who is teased for being overweight.
Bowling, the author of three self-published YA novels, lets readers see Aven as a full, complex teenager--
even while those around her have trouble doing so--and gives her a sharp sense of humor, including a
penchant for inventing gruesome stories about how she lost her arms. Bowling's novel demonstrates how
negotiating others' discomfort can be one of the most challenging aspects of having a physical difference
and how friendship can mitigate that discomfort. A major revelation that leads to a somewhat-too-tidy
ending is a minor blemish in an otherwise openhearted, empathie book. Ages 8-12. Agent: Shannon Hassan,
Marsal Lyon Literary. (Sept.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus." Publishers Weekly, 19 June 2017, p. 112. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A496643950/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=71072fcc.
Accessed 27 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A496643950
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Dusti Bowling: Insignificant Events in the
Life of a Cactus, Bowling's middle grade
novel about a girl born without arms, looks
beyond disability into the complex inner life
of a teen whose life is changing rapidly
Publishers Weekly.
264.20 (May 15, 2017): pS89.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The 13-year-old protagonist of Bowling's first traditionally published novel, Aven Green, is so fed up with
explaining how she lost her arms that she offers a different story each time anybody asks--the more gross
and outlandish, the better. The truth is that Aven was born without arms due to a rare genetic condition. But
her identity is much more than her disability; Bowling's novel is a sensitive and fresh middle grade book
ultimately about a girl adjusting to new circumstances.
Aven's story begins with her family's move to Arizona, where her father has been hired to manage a rundown
Western-themed park named Stagecoach Pass. As the unusual setting--and the title--might suggest.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus is filled with humor. Bowling says, "There are so many serious
books dealing with disabilities. I wanted this story to be fun, not heart-wrenching. Well, maybe it's a tiny bit
heart-wrenching at times."
Bowling (who previously self-published the YA novel The Day We Met) began thinking about those whowhether
from genetic causes or accidents-live without limbs after her cousin was injured in Iraq. He had lost
his eye and was going to lose his arm, Wanting to understand his new perspective, she began researching
life with missing limbs. Her cousin passed away shortly after being injured, and she didn't think about limb
differences again until years later when she happened upon a video of a young Barbie Thomas (who would
later go on to become an armless bodybuilder): "At that moment, it no longer felt painful to think about
people with limb differences. It felt important," Bowling says.
As she began to appreciate how much most people take for granted, Aven also fully took shape; "I knew I
wanted her to have a positive attitude. I didn't want anyone to pity her because of her disability or find
inspiration at her expense. I also didn't want her disability to be negative or something she had to overcome.
If Aven needed to overcome anything, it was these major changes in her life, and dealing with other people's
perceptions and reactions,"
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The book communicates how having a physical difference means constantly navigating other people's
discomfort, "It's only when people try to expand their viewpoints that they can begin to embrace differences
instead of feeling uncomfortable about them," Bowling says. Especially cognizant of her limitations in
writing from Aven's perspective, she contacted a woman whose online videos had helped foster her
awareness: "Tisha of Tisha Unarmed taught me so much through her videos that I decided to contact her
after writing my story She graciously agreed to do a sensitivity reading for me."
The novel includes other characters with differences-notably Aven's friend Connor, who has Tourette's
syndrome. Bowling's research into the lives of people with Tourette's syndrome began close to home: her
husband and children have related disorders. As she learned more about Tourette's syndrome, she became
aware of many stereotypes that she wants replaced with more nuanced understandings. "I hope I've done my
part to help spread awareness about the realities of Tourette's syndrome.
It's not just about people shouting cuss words, which only about five percent of people with TS actually do,"
she says.
For readers who may have limb differences, tic disorders, or Tourette's syndrome. Bowling hopes that they
might feel validated by seeing an aspect of themselves represented. "When you can't find books that reflect
your life experiences, it's like saying you're not worth writing . about," she says. Both Aven and Connor
offer readers a chance to get to know characters whose disabilities are merely one facet of their identities.
Bowling has already heard from readers who tell her that the book has helped them see disabilities in new
and different ways. She says, "If empathy and inclusiveness are what people take away from my story, then
I don't think I could ask for more than that."
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Dusti Bowling: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Bowling's middle grade novel about a girl born
without arms, looks beyond disability into the complex inner life of a teen whose life is changing
rapidly." Publishers Weekly, 15 May 2017, p. S89. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A492435736/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=94d84e4b.
Accessed 27 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A492435736
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Bowling, Dusti. Insignificant Events in the
Life of a Cactus
Evelyn Khoo Schwartz
School Library Journal.
63.5 (May 2017): p78+.
COPYRIGHT 2017 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No
redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
* BOWLING, Dusti. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. 272p. Sterling. Sept. 2017. Tr $14.95.
ISBN 9781454923459.
Gr 5-8--Aven Green has always loved her life in Kansas--hanging out with Emily and Kayla, her best
friends since kindergarten; planning pranks; and playing on the school soccer team. Though Aven was bom
without arms, she has never let her "lack of armage," as she calls it, deter her from doing anything she sets
her mind to. But when her father gets a job as the manager of Stagecoach Pass, a rundown Western theme
park out in Arizona, the family's move, right after Aven has started eighth grade, presents her toughest
challenge yet. Having to deal with the many stares and questions of new schoolmates, Aven sorely misses
her old life back in Kansas. However, her unflinchingly optimistic spirit, accompanied by her infectious and
indomitable sense of humor, keeps her looking for the silver linings in her new life in Arizona, such as
making friends with the cute but prickly Connor (who has Tourette's syndrome) or enjoying the ability to
wear flats all year-round. But the most fascinating thing is the unusual mystery at the heart of Stagecoach
Pass: the disappearing tarantulas, a missing photograph, and a secret necklace. Aven is determined to get to
the bottom of the secret. She is a perky, hilarious, and inspiring protagonist whose attitude and humor will
linger even after the last page has turned. The tale of Stagecoach Pass is just as compelling as the story of
Aven, and the setting, like the many colorful characters who people this novel, is so vivid and quirky that
it's practically cinematic. VERDICT Charming and memorable. An excellent choice for middle grade
collections and classrooms.--Evelyn Khoo Schwartz, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Schwartz, Evelyn Khoo. "Bowling, Dusti. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus." School Library
Journal, May 2017, p. 78+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491032057/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=5663ad68. Accessed 27 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491032057