So as I mentioned before in this post I sent a message to Robin Wasserman regarding a line in her book ‘Skinned’ (later re-titled as ‘Frozen’). I wanted to know if Wasserman believed a line spoken by one of her characters regarding people being upset about racism, the Holocaust in particular: “Statute of limitations on grudges expires after a hundred years.”

I was fairly confident Wasserman was not a racist, based on her online presence. But the idea that people might believe there was a limit on how long someone could be upset about racist acts nagged at me, so finally I had to message her to set my mind at ease.

And set my mind at ease she did!

I asked about posting her response, and she asked that I just paraphrase so here goes:

Basically she said that she did not believe we should ever stop being upset by what the Nazi Party did, and that forgetting it or believing it was too far in the past to be upset about could lead to a repeat of those terrible events. She expressed a desire to clear up any doubt about that, especially with the current climate of racial tension.
(I wish I could post her own words here for you, because the way she said it was so powerful, but I’d rather respect her wishes.)

She was very kind and I’m so glad I messaged her about it. I even learned that, not only is she the type of person to try to call out racism publicly (check her twitter if you don’t believe me), she’s also Jewish herself, which I had not seen mentioned online. I’m glad I know, because it makes me read her books (and especially a character like Lia’s dad) with a new perspective.

She also actually confirmed my belief that Lia’s dad is totally racist.

To paraphrase her again: Lia isn’t the type to notice much about people other than herself, so these statements are put in for the reader to know.

I’m so glad I messaged her and I actually found several more books by her I want to read as soon as I can get my hands on them! You should check out her books too.