Arts and Culture

Author Interviews with Host Crystal Sarakas

A fan-favorite returns to WSKG Public Media! Hosted by award-winning producer Crystal Sarakas, "Off the Page" features conversations with writers from across the region and around the globe. Available as a podcast on iTunes, Alexa, Google, and on the WSKG and NPR One apps.

Magical dictionaries, family, and the magic of a girl named Zia

By Crystal Sarakas

Published July 9, 2022 at 2:14 PM EDT

Off The Page from WSKG · Episode 12 - Bree Barton and ZIA ERASES THE WORLD

Ithaca author Bree Barton talks with host Crystal Sarakas about depression, the magic of language, and how awesome young people are on this episode of Off the Page.

More about ZIA ERASES THE WORLD:

Zia remembers the exact night the Shadoom arrived. One moment she was laughing with her best friends, and the next a dark room of shadows had crept into her chest. Zia has always loved words, but she can’t find a real one for the fear growing inside her. How can you defeat something if you don’t know its name?After Zia’s mom announces that her grouchy Greek yiayia is moving into their tiny apartment, the Shadoom seems here to stay. Until Zia discovers an old family heirloom: the C. Scuro Dictionary, 13th Edition. This is no ordinary dictionary. Hidden within its magical pages is a mysterious blue eraser shaped like an evil eye. When Zia starts to erase words that remind her of the Shadoom, they disappear one by one from the world around her. She finally has the confidence to befriend Alice, the new girl in sixth grade, and to perform at the Story Jamboree. But things quickly dissolve into chaos, as the words she erases turn out to be more vital than Zia knew. In this raw, funny, and at times heartbreaking middle grade debut, Bree Barton reveals how—with the right kind of help—our darkest moments can nudge us toward the light.