ChickLits

TEENCHICKLITTERATURE Q&A WITH ALEXA YOUNG

Which character is the one you can relate to the most? Why?

I relate to all my characters in different ways, but Avalon is the one closest to my heart (interesting that readers seem to like her least—HA!). The thing is, she has that type-A need to control everything, just like I do. (How endearing is that?!) She also works really hard for everything she gets, and tends to over-think things, while Halley sort of breezes through a lot of situations without obsessing too much (except when it comes to a certain guy, of course!). Mostly, I think I relate to Avalon because she’s painfully insecure but pretends to be tough and above it all. I hope readers (and people who know me!) realize it’s all an act—that in reality she’s (I’m) just a sensitive little lamb who wants to be loved. (Wow, could I sound more pathetic? :-)

Designer brands are a huge part of the novel. Which is your favorite designer label?

Well, let me first say I am in NO WAY as fashion-obsessed or savvy as the girls in FRENEMIES. When I decide to spring for something a bit higher-end than Xhilaration at Target or a pair of capris from the Gap, I usually opt for Calvin Klein or Michael Kors because most of their designs are classic and flattering. When I’m trying to be cool or somewhat edgy, I like Free People. I’ve always had a bit of a hippie chick side and I like how retro-rock the FP stuff is.

What is your summer must-have?

A black swimsuit. Since having my son (a few years ago), my belly isn’t quite what it used to be so these days I opt for a one-piece, and I found a great one (designed by—yes—Calvin Klein) in the Victoria’s Secret catalog last year. I was so bummed when I took it out of the drawer last month and discovered the elastic had completely eroded. But (lucky me!), VS had almost the identical style again this year…so I got myself a new one. Woot!

What other ChickLit books do you recommend for teens?

I love, love, love the VIOLET series by Melissa Walker (and I’m about to read her latest, LOVESTRUCK SUMMER). I’m also a huge fan of LOVE AND OTHER FOUR-LETTER WORDS by Carolyn Mackler, CLASS FAVORITE by Taylor Morris, and OH. MY. GODS. by Tera Lynn Childs. For the slightly older (high school) readers looking for something a bit darker, I like I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE and the soon-to-be-released BALLADS OF SUBURBIA, both by Stephanie Kuehnert, and the PRETTY LITTLE LIARS series by Sara Shepard. Both are such amazing writers. And though it’s not technically YA, I recently read THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold and was blown away (very dark and kind of scary, but beautiful and funny at times, too). I’m way behind on my reading, but I’m really hoping to dive into some more books and be able to recommend them by the time the summer’s over.

What inspires you to write about Halley and Avalon?

It all starts with my editors—the brilliant people who came up with the concept for the books (along with all the titles and many of the plot details!) in the first place. I can’t say enough good things about them. They’re so smart and cool and nice. My editors simply ROCK. I also get kind of inspired by reality TV (in book three of the series—GLAMNESIA—one of the characters is loosely based on Lauren Conrad!), and by my readers (who often tell me about their own experiences with their own frenemies…and crushes…and more!).

Have you ever had a frenemy like Halley or Avalon?

Yes. (Is it cool for me to just answer the question that way?! ;-)

If you could travel to any place in the world where would you go?

I’m really lucky in that I’ve already been to a lot of my dream destinations (thanks to my incredibly well-traveled parents, who took me and my brother EVERYWHERE growing up)—but there are two places topping my list right now: Corfu (one of the Greek Isles) and Las Ventanas (a resort hotel in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico).

What is your favorite summer song?

Ugh, you can’t limit me to just one! There are SO MANY: The Go Go’s “Head Over Heels” and “Vacation,” Bananarama’s “Cruel Summer,” Duran Duran’s “Rio,” The Hooters’ “And We Danced,” the entire soundtrack from Footloose and from St. Elmo’s Fire. (I saw both during or just before my summer vacations.) I know I’m totally dating myself now…but those were the summer songs of MY teen years and they were AWESOME! ;-)

Did anyone in your life inspire any characters in the book? If yes, who and why.

I did have a few friends back in the day who definitely THINK they inspired some characters in the book—and maybe they did, in a way. I had two close friends in particular who were sort of the attached-at-the-hip trendsetters of our middle school. One of them was my BFF, and she tended to hassle me on a regular basis for being a “granola nerd” (during my hippie-chick phases) and for wearing way too much pink and purple (during my valley girl phases). I had a few frenemy-like situations—friends I broke up with—throughout my teens, too. It almost always involved a guy (of course)—specifically, my friends would get boyfriends and, since I never had a boyfriend let alone a date, I would accuse them of being big sluts. I think that was fair, don’t you…?! Tyler Brandon—Halley’s fifteen-year-old brother—is also somewhat inspired by my own big brother, and somewhat by my husband and his dorky friends (!). Honestly, a lot of the people in my life tend to seep into my characters. I think that’s unavoidable.

If Frenemies became a movie or TV show who would you want to play Halley and Avalon? Why?

Funny you should ask! I actually just got word that The Disney Channel might be making a TV-movie based on the book(s) and I’m SO EXCITED! It’s tough for me to say who should play the girls, though. Part of me would love to just have two unknowns because there aren’t that many well-known actresses that age. Then again, far-fetched as this would be, I would love to have Abigail Breslin for Halley and Dakota Fanning for Avalon. I think they are two of the most talented actresses of their generation and see huge things for them—and I think they could bring a really cool, edgy, dark spin to the FRENEMIES characters and story. I’d like the deeper layers of the story to come through and sometimes that doesn’t happen until really talented actors interpret the characters.

Would you ever do some of the things Halley and Avalon did to each other? (the blog fights and party stuff, etc.)

Pathetically enough, I kind of have. I actually broke up with a friend last year and promptly deleted her from my friends on MySpace and Facebook. (Yes, I am still thirteen.) In better news…we’ve since reconciled. I’ve also bailed on friends in the middle of parties, largely because of miscommunication and all-out confusion.

What is your favorite part of Frenemies?

I love the scenes between Halley and Wade. There’s just nothing more exciting, crazy, scary, amazing than falling for your first love (or the person you think could be your first love!).

Do you think being a writer is a hard job? Is it your dream job?

Well…writing doesn’t necessarily come easy to me—I really have to work at it, and I agonize over pretty much every last word I write. So in that sense yes, it’s hard. It challenges me. It’s also tough for a type-A person like me to deal with the fact that I can’t control people’s opinions of my writing, I can’t control sales—all that stuff. Of course, it doesn’t matter what profession you’re in; you’ll never be able to control everything. You just have to do your best and then let the chips fall where they may. As far as writing being my dream job? That’s such a great question. And you know what? I think I’d have to say it is. But I don’t know that I realized that until this very moment. I get so caught up in the day-to-day struggles and the uncertainty of whether or not I’m good enough to be doing it, I think it’s scary to admit this really is IT—what I want to be doing. But it actually is. I love it, struggles and all.

Lastly, what is your idea of the message of Frenemies? How did you try to convey this message to the readers?

You know, the last thing I want to do is preach to readers about what they should or shouldn’t be doing. I think readers will automatically sense they’re being told what to do and resent that. So more than anything I hope that these books are fun, entertaining, and an escape from what can be pretty tough times (especially when you’re a teen, but really at any age!). That’s not to say there isn’t a message, because there absolutely is. And for me, it’s that friendships—relationships—are WORK. It’s not always easy. We tend to be so focused on ourselves and what’s happening to us, we forget to think about what the other person might be going through—how those things they don’t even tell us about might be influencing their behavior. I know that sounds so psycho-babbly! Sorry. I guess the bottom line is that it’s important to give the people we love the benefit of the doubt—to not let every little sideways glance or quiet word make us defensive and insecure and then offensive and overzealous. I think I tried to convey all that through the misunderstandings between Halley and Avalon. I hope the reader sees what’s going on and realizes the girls are lashing out because they’re feeling so unsure of themselves—and that there are better ways to handle those situations. Hopefully, when the reader sees these characters acting without thinking, that will give them pause and make them think twice before being too reactive in their own lives. ACK! Now I’m getting preachy! The real message is that girls need to pay less attention to fashion and more attention to friendship. Um. YEAH! :)

Thank you so much Alexa for all of your time! You can buy Frenemies at this link: http://www.amazon.com/Frenemies-Alexa-Young/dp/0061175617 and wherever books are sold :)