There are so many young, queer Black people that deserve so much better than what we've gotten, both on the page and in the world. I write for all the girls in this town, who nobody pays attention to but deserve all of the praise and credit and all the happiest endings. I write for my nieces, who are 14 and 18. Ntozake Shange has this quote that I really love: "I write for all the young girls of color who don't even exist yet so that there's something there for them when they arrive." I think about 15-year-old me, who was scared of everything but wanted so badly for someone to love her and to be seen as a whole person for all the parts of who I am. Who is the primary audience that you hold in your mind while you're writing? I love those stories so much and wanted to see someone like me reflected in them as more than a sidekick. I wanted to write a book that was very much an homage to the work that I love the most, which were the John Hughes movies of the eighties, the teen romantic comedies of the late '90s, early aughts – we're talking A Cinderella Story, Drive Me Crazy, 10 Things I Hate About You.
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