Publisher : Tor Teen (July 13, 2021)
Language : English
Hardcover : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 1250204100
ISBN-13 : 978-1250204103
INTERVIEW
1. What is on your nightstand?
Right now, Loan Le’s A PHO LOVE STORY and my toddler cat Tiger Lily who is giving serious side-eye to the birds sitting on the wall outside my window.
2. What author would you totally fan?
The good thing about going to writers’ conferences for so many years is that I’ve met and had books signed by many of my favorite authors. I keep these treasures on a special bookshelf. Who would I probably act like a complete fangirl in front of right now? Sandhya Menon and Becky Albertalli.
3. What makes you cringe?
An adult romance writer once told me that she wrote a YA book set in Japan because “my kids are obsessed with anime.” She’s never been to Japan. She doesn’t know any Japanese people. She used Google translate to throw some Japanese words in there to look authentic. Nooooooooooo! My eyeballs about rolled out of my head when she added, “Plus, YA is so easy to write.”
4. Do you obsessively plot out each point or just go with the flow?
Not obsessively, but there is a reason why EVERY REASON WE SHOULDN’T took eight years to bring to market, and FAKING REALITY took less than two. Yes, the pandemic gave me a lot more writing time (in theory at least), but it was Blake Snyder’s SAVE THE CAT Beat Sheet plotting method that shaved years (years!!!) off my writing time. I recommend Jessica Brody’s SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL to new and seasoned authors all the time.
5. Is there a word you love to use?
Verbally it’s “Awesome!”
The words I hunt down and delete in manuscripts all the time: Really, actually, and just.
(sorry no image of TIGER LILY)
The calico cat is my pandemic rescue kitten, Tiger Lily. My daughter’s cat Tsarina was the inspiration for Leo’s cat Maru. Lita (who is in the book, too) was our family’s first cat.
Praise for EVERY REASON WE SHOULDN’T
“A rich, emotionally layered story…..Wonderful.” ―NPR
“This book is like a warm hug filled with all the things I love. I started smiling from page one and couldn’t put it down.” ―Courtney Milan
“Whether your first ice skating romance was The Cutting Edge or Yuri!!! On Ice, you will absolutely love this book. Full of complicated family relationships, sparkling friendships, and a completely delicious romance, Every Reason We Shouldn’t is an uplifting love song to everyone who’s ever lost their way, and then had the courage to find it again.” ―Lindsay Ribar, author of Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies
“Sure to take the gold.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Readers will enjoy the well-developed characters, witty dialogue, and cringe-worthy romantic fumbles right through to the awfully neat, but very happy ending.” ―School Library Connection
“Compelling… an obvious choice for fans of classic love stories that play out on the ice, but also for readers looking for a nuanced story of self-discovery.” ―Booklist
My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Some Kind of Wonderful meets Kara McDowell’s Just for Clicks with diverse characters, perfect for readers looking for feel-good YA romance and those who like “clean teen” reads
Dakota McDonald swore after “The Great Homecoming Disaster” that she’d never allow her romantic life to be a plot line in her parents’ HGTV show again. But when the restaurant run by the family of her best friend (and secret crush), Leo, is on the line, Dakota might end up eating her own words.
Leo Matsuda dreams of escaping his small town Arizona life and the suffocating demands of working in his family’s restaurant, but the closer he gets to his goal—thanks to the help of his best friend (and secret crush) Dakota—the more reasons there are for him to stay.
SARA FUJIMURA is an award-winning young adult author and creative writing teacher. She is the American half of her Japanese-American family, and has written about Japanese culture and raising bicultural children for such magazines as Appleseeds, Learning Through History, East West, and Mothering, as well as travel-related articles for To Japan With Love. Her self-published young adult novels include Tanabata Wish and Breathe. She lives in Phoenix with her husband and children.
