Jenny Han Quotes
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Sometimes you don't know what a book is about until you are finished with it and you're talking about it.
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There is real power in seeing yourself as a hero. Because then you believe that you can do anything.
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Change is hard but inevitable.
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With Asian-Americans actors, specifically, there's been fewer opportunities for them in TV and film and fewer that have the ability to actually make a career out of it. It becomes a bit of a chicken and egg situation, where they're like, 'Oh, but they're not famous names,' but they haven't had a chance to be in anything yet, either.
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The most joyful part of writing, for me, is when I am 90% there, and suddenly the story clicks into place, and things finally start to make sense.
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Food is a way to explore culture and ground the story in a specific time and place. I still remember the meals and snacks from my first novel, 'Shug': pork chops and applesauce and Coca-Cola and peanuts, which are very Southern. When a character has roots elsewhere, food is a way to connect with home and another culture.
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My whole life, as an adult as well, I've been attracted to stories about young people. This period of time is so fertile - there's a million things that are happening, a million firsts, and to be able to witness that and record that is a privilege.
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We learn so much about the world by what we take in through movies and TV and books - we learn who's worthy of having their story told.
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You don't really know when the last time you're going to do something is; the middle can often be a bit blurry. Firsts are very potent.
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The American girl doesn't look just one kind of way - not in 2018, not ever.
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I started writing stories at a young age, but not once did it occur to me that I could grow up to be a writer. Who could I look to? My favorite authors were Ann M. Martin and E.L. Konigsburg and Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary and Lois Lowry and Norma Klein. They were all white women, and they seemed so stately to me, so elegant. A whole world away.
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When you handwrite something, you're writing your most raw, pure thoughts. If you want to change it, then you have to mark it out, and people can see you laboring over that thought. I think even the act of hand, pen, and paper is much more intimate than with a computer screen.
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It's not hard to get into a teen's head, because it's all emotions. Their feelings are amplified; you have no luxury of hindsight. If you haven't had your heart broken before, you don't know that you'll be able to get back up again.
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I worked on 'Always and Forever, Lara Jean' for a few months before I breathed a word of it my editor or agent.
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When I get an email from someone who says, 'Your book was the first book I ever read,' or, 'Your book is what made me love reading,' it's just such an honor.
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I don't think you ever love anything as passionately as you do when you're a teen. You remember the books you read as a young person your whole life. I feel so lucky to write for young adults.
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It's important for Asian American kids to see themselves in stories and to feel seen. They need to know that their stories are universal, too, that they, too, can fall in love in a teen movie. They don't have to be the sidekick; they can be the hero.
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Even as a full-grown adult, it can still feel destabilizing when your family goes through changes.
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There's something so delicious about holding onto a secret; it's something just for you.
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I always know what time it is.
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I think that if a writer doesn't use her voice, be it in her writing or online or in real life, then what is the point of having one?
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Sometimes readers want some escapist fun, to get lost in the story. But light-hearted romantic stories can and should star all kinds of girls.
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College applications are such a huge part of senior year, yet often times you never see characters in books actually do work.
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I think, as a writer, you spend most of your time working on the book alone.