Jenny Han Quotes
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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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Change is hard but inevitable.
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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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Whenever I was trying to get over a boy, I would write him a really long, wrought letter - but never mail it.
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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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The American girl doesn't look just one kind of way - not in 2018, not ever.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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I always know what time it is.
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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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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.
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Beyonce, Otis Redding, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, and Adele are a few of my favorites.
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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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My sister and I are really close. She's my little sister.
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There's something so delicious about holding onto a secret; it's something just for you.