Hokenson, Terry 1948–

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Hokenson, Terry 1948–

Personal

Born 1948; children: one daughter. Hobbies and other interests: Camping, genealogy, reading, bicycling.

Addresses

Home—Minneapolis, MN. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Writer. Has worked as a carpenter and an attorney.

Writings

The Winter Road (young-adult novel), Front Street (Ashville, NC), 2006.

Sidelights

Terry Hokenson's first novel, The Winter Road, is a work for young adults. It follows the adventures of seventeen-year-old Willa, who makes a foolhardy decision that has long-term results. When her uncle is too drunk to make the trip safely, Willa decides to take her uncle's plane without permission and fly his winter supply route. Although Willa is a licensed pilot, she crashes during the flight, and finds herself stranded in the snowy Canadian wilderness.

Jennifer Mattson, in a review for Booklist, remarked of The Winter Road that "the mortal challenges Willa faces make for a gripping narrative, one sharpened by vis- ceral details." Vicky Smith, in a contribution for Horn Book, commented that "readers may well feel they've gone through a whole survival course with her." Sharon Morrison, writing for School Library Journal, noted that beyond being a story of survival, The Winter Road is "a well-written, thoughtful book about a girl's desperate efforts to gain her father's approval."

Hokenson once commented: "The Winter Road is based on a story I wrote for my daughter when she was eleven years old. I told her a tale of a young woman using her wits to survive a great challenge. While I had long enjoyed letter writing, journaling and travel writing, this was the first fiction I attempted to publish. I am drawn toward the existential struggles of emerging adults, and to settings of outdoor adventure. While I wrote the core of The Winter Road "off the top of my head" and researched the details later, the process is reversed for my current work in progress. I've done a lot of research and undertaken field trips first, to acquire the materials of the setting (immigrant farm life in central Minnesota in 1880), and am constructing the story later. In both cases, the story is dashed off in a careless heat, while the organization and refinement follow.

"I was surprised to learn how very long one may spend refining a story, learning how to write, learning how to tell a tale. Eudora Welty is one of my favorite authors. The power of her craft is striking, yet invisible.

"I want my books to provide young people, including those inhabiting older adults, with an engaging adventure that is both entertaining and existentially productive."