I will let you in on a little secret: I call myself a women’s fiction writer, but what I really am is a fiction writer who writes young adult books for grownups.

There’s not a term for it yet, but I’m workshopping it. “Old Adult?”

Love, family, and friendship. The hope, humor, and heartbreak involved in every meaningful relationship. This is what I write about. And I must thank the following five books that I read as a teen for shaping my author identity today.

“Experienced Adult?” Hmmm. Maybe.  

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO by Bruce and Carole Hart (1987)– “They are perfect strangers, living in two different worlds, never dreaming that they are perfect… for each other.” The story of Julie Stillwell and Sean Manning is the perfect blend of sweet and sad. You will see this book’s bittersweet romance fingerprints all over the flashback scenes of my debut novel, SOMETHING BETTER. Oh! And I just realized that they share a character name – Sean. Yup. That makes sense to me. Thanks, subconscious.

DON’T CARE HIGH by Gordon Korman (1985) – This screwball comedy-as-novel of two friends who set out to redeem their school’s slacker reputation remains to this day one of my most-reread and beloved books. (note: Gordon Korman is a legend – he began writing books at 14 and is still a staple of Scholastic Book Fairs. If they haven’t already, have your kids read 2019’s THE UNTEACHABLES). This book is utterly bonkers and funny, filled with iconic characters. My hope is that my sophomore novel, WELCOME TO BLOOMS, evokes this same sort of alternate-reality comedy feel.

SEVEN DAYS TO A BRAND-NEW ME by Ellen Conford (1982)– Maddy Kemper starts an all-out campaign to make herself over and win the affections of Adam Holmquist. I started a screenplay adaptation of this in my mid-20s. I still think it would work. There’s a little Maddy awkwardness in every high school flashback scene I write. I named a character in my first YA manuscript after her.

THE PRINCESS ROUTINE by Tonya Wood (1985)– Absolutely hilarious story of falling in love on a Colorado River rafting trip. Chelsea is the perfect romcom heroine.  Her evolution from “princess” to “river rat” is comedic emotional arc gold, and – I’m just realizing now – part of my inspiration for my protagonist Daisy in WELCOME TO BLOOMS.

AMONG FRIENDS by Caroline B. Cooney (1987)– Best friends chronicle the deterioration of their relationship through journals. I loved reading the same story from six different perspectives, and SOMETHING BETTER delves into a similar theme - while we are always the hero of our own story, we may, in fact, be the villain of someone else’s.

Have you read any of these? What young adult books shaped your worldview? Drop a comment below and let me know!

Xoxo,
Jo
aka “Young Adult at Heart”