Julia DeVillers, MEET ME AT WONDERLAND

Totally Booked with Zibby

Zibby Owens

Connection, Inspiration, Moms, Entertainment, Arts, Reading, Books, Parenting, Literary

4.4 • 602 Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Zibby chats with author Julia DeVillers about MEET ME AT WONDERLAND, a charming middle-grade rom-com set at an amusement park, inspired by Julia’s real-life teen job at Chuck E. Cheese and moose-suit meet-cute that changed everything. Julia describes how a life-threating cancer diagnosis in 2022 unexpectedly led to this book’s creation. She also discusses crafting authentic tween and teen voices, writing a dual POV, and the importance of showing strong, supportive relationships. Finally, she shares her personal connection to the On Being Jewish Now anthology and the joy of including a bonus chocolate mousse recipe (courtesy of Allie Rosen) in her novel.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Zibi Owens, and you're listening to Totally Booked with Zibby. Formerly, moms don't have time to read books. In my daily show, I interview today's latest, best-selling, buzziest, or underrated authors and story creators, whose work I think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author, and obviously podcaster, I get a comprehensive
0:24.0	look at everything that's coming out and spend my time curating the best books so you don't
0:29.3	have to.
0:30.3	Stay in the know, get insider insights, and connect with guests like I do every single day.
0:36.2	For more information, go to zibbimedia.com and follow me on Instagram at Zibby Owens.
0:44.5	Julia DeVillers is the author of Meet Me at Wonderland.
0:48.1	She's also a contributor to On Being Jewish Now.
0:51.2	Julia is a best-selling author of middle grade and YA books with millions of copies
0:55.4	sold worldwide. One of her books became the Disney Channel movie, Read It and Weep,
1:00.0	and she sold a TV pilot to CBS inspired by her life as a children's author married to a gang
1:06.1	prosecutor. She also co-authors books with her identical twin. Most recently, the books for the American
1:11.9	girl doll twins from the 1990s, which caused a national viral meltdown that 90s dolls are historical.
1:19.9	Julia started her career as a giant New Jersey sewer rat named Chuck E. Cheese. Meet Me at Wonderland
1:25.5	is a love letter to that sweet, smelly time. She lives in
1:29.2	Columbus, Ohio. Welcome, Julia. Thank you so much for coming on totally booked to talk about
1:34.4	Meet Me at Wonderland. Congratulations. Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. Oh, it's my pleasure.
1:40.9	I feel like I have to start in on the moose jokes right away. This is a moose
1:45.4	read. How's that? Perfect. Anyone who likes a good moose pun might enjoy my book. That's right.
1:51.3	That's a big selling point. Okay. Tell listeners what your book is about.
1:56.2	Sure. Meet Me at Wonderland is a tween romcom and it's inspired by my high school job at Chuckie Cheese.
2:03.3	At Chuckie Cheese.
2:05.4	So it's rivals to lovers, opposites attract.
	...

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