Attention bookstore shoppers: If you have purchased a copy of How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life please return your book to the store where purchased for a full refund.
This has been a Plagiarism Recall Alert presented as a public service by Little, Brown, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, formerly known as Warner Books, formerly known as AOL Time Warner. You may resume your normal life -- now.
The novel in question was written by Kaavya Viswanathan, who, while still in high school, received a half-million-dollar two-book deal for her manuscript. Viswanathan now is a sophomore at Harvard University. Movie rights have been sold to DreamWorks.
On April 24, book trade newsletter Shelf Awareness indicated there may be a problem, kicking off their coverage with this headline: "Say it ain't so, Kaavya."
They reported "...several passages in Harvard sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan's new novel, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life are 'strikingly similar' to parts of two young adult novels by Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings, published in 2001 and 2003.
When called by the Harvard Crimson, Viswanathan said, 'I have no idea what you are talking about.'"
The story, of course continued.
The publisher quickly got their author on the Today Show with Katie Couric. The interview was not particularly convincing, industry folk clucked.
The NY Times said Viswanathan "maintained throughout the week that her copying of the passages was 'unintentional and unconscious.' She said she was a fan of McCafferty's novels and had read them several times, but not while writing her own book."
Everyone in publishing thrills to this kind of story -- unless it is happening to them. Go to auction on a hot property, spend half a million dollars on the deal, watch the whole thing fall to pieces because your young novelist borrowed prose without acknowledgment. The story is delicious, and non-fattening, too.
Make up your own mind if plagiarism was going on here. The Boston Globe published several passages for comparison:
From Megan McCafferty's Sloppy Firsts: "Marcus then leaned across me to open the passenger-side door. He was invading my personal space, as I had learned in Psych class, and I instinctively sank back into the seat. That just made him move in closer."
Compare to Opal Mehta, page 175: "Sean stood up and stepped toward me, ostensibly to show me the book. He was definitely invading my personal space, as I had learned in a Human Evolution class last summer, and I instinctively backed up till my legs hit the chair I had been sitting in. That just made him move in closer..."
Two more sections for comparison:
Sloppy Firsts: "Bridget is my age and lives across the street. For the first twelve years of my life, these qualifications were all I needed in a best friend..."
Opal Mehta: "Priscilla was my age and lived two blocks away. For the first fifteen years of my life, those were the only qualifications I needed in a best friend..."
Perhaps as many as 40 passages from McCafferty are closely echoed in Viswanathan's novel. She was caught with the scissors and paste, and there's no denying it now.
How is she doing? She won't say, publicly. Her book deal's down the toilet and her novel is being shredded.
Megan McCafferty told The Times, "I am not seeking restitution in any form. The past few weeks have been very difficult, and I am most grateful to my readers for offering continual support... I look forward to getting back to work and moving on, and hope Ms. Viswanathan can, too."
"Viswanathan, reached last night, declined to comment," The Times said.
Will Little, Brown/Hachette/Warner and their young author revise the novel and reissue it? At one point they indicated they would.
I will believe that when it happens. What a sad story for everyone involved.
