MORE 'IDENTITY' POSTS
While I loved watching her play football and follow her interest despite the judgmental and at times unwelcoming atmosphere, I really loved watching her become herself. A truly fantastic look at navigating the complexities of growing up.
As writers, and readers, we connect with so many characters that are so different from us – that’s the beauty of the books. I hope that by having more biracial characters in books we can make those connections deeper.
Be Real, Macy Weaver is a story about a girl discovering and embracing her own identity. In some ways, Macy and this novel helped me “be real” about who I am as a writer and trust my own voice more. I wouldn’t trade this two-year journey for anything. Thank you, Macy-girl!
This book is my proudest accomplishment, and I hope that young, marginalized, underrepresented teens of the future who look like me won’t have to travel the world just to see themselves in a story.
So, why did I—an introverted indoor kid—write a story about a tween joining so many clubs? Because, much like Maggie, I was once determined to define myself.
When I set out to write My Dearest Darkest, I wanted to create a cosmic horror story starring the kind of people that Lovecraft demonized: queer people, people of color, and women.
Being a writer was always something I aspired to, but I think that if someone told me that I’d spend months working on a manuscript and then I’d change protagonists and perspectives and rewrite the whole story from scratch, I’d probably faint and decide to aspire to being a car salesman or something.
When we let children be more than just the sum of their parts, that's when we'll truly see the magic in our world.
Change can be cathartic! Change can be the thing that makes you grow! We wanted to create a tale that says you don’t have to choose a best friend. A story that says everyone deals with self-doubt sometimes. A story that says there’s always some gray and no real good guys and bad guys—everyone is flawed and that’s okay.
It was my long-standing appreciation for social media that helped spark the idea for my sophomore YA novel NO FILTER AND OTHER LIES. I wanted to create a character whose obsession with social media goes a little too far and also highlight the pressures of existing in that digital space as a teen.
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