Q. How do you decide to write a young adult novel? Does the story lead you there, or do you say, “Geez, I’d like to write a YA book’’?
A. It would definitely be the story. I’m not really sure I understand what young adult literature is. A few years ago, I was on the committee for the National Book Award for children’s literature and most of what we read was marked as YA and it really had nothing in common, as far as I could tell, except that I was reading it all. Though I was interested in a story about people in high school and YA seems to be that distinction. I think that there’s actually quite a bit of speculation and confusion as to who reads books that are set in high school.
Q. If you’re writing about breakups and looking back on them, do you have to go back and say, “This is a little too adult’’ or “This isn’t real life’’? Or do you just write it and see where it lands?
A. Well, the changes I make to a book as I write it are to keep it true to the story or keep it true to the voice, but there’s certainly things that the narrator, who is a 17-year-old girl, would not say or do. But it’s not because of the rules about publishing books for YA, it’s just she wouldn’t do that. I mean, it was the same thing for “A Series of Unfortunate Events.’’ It wasn’t that I had a lot of hardcore heroin use in it and the publisher said, “No, we don’t do that for children’s literature.’’ It’s that the books take place in a world where no one is taking heroin.
Q. Have you ever taken a girl’s point of view before?
