Jenny Han Quotes
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I think that sometimes we put undue pressure on stories featuring people of color, and I hope we get to a point where it's not such a rarity to see a person of color be the hero of a story, so that it can just be a story and not have to carry so much weight.
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There are so many people that want to tell stories. I think that the issue is how hard it is to get your foot in the door to tell your stories.
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'The Summer I Turned Pretty' is about how, as a young woman, everyone gets that moment of being in bloom, but nobody really appreciates it.
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I just think of myself as a writer. Yes, I'm a woman. And I'm a writer. The main challenge is that I like to write stories about young women, and society doesn't place much of a premium on young women's stories. And I think that's why I gravitate towards it. I really honor that, and I treasure that time, and they should be given that respect.
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I think, generally, romantic stories end with people together. But I'd like a story that ends, like, hopefully but not necessarily neatly.
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I might just be the luckiest girl ever.
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I think that, oftentimes, what people say is, 'We need an actress who'll be able to greenlight a movie,' and my counterargument to that is always that, when it comes to a teen movie, you have very few people who can greenlight a movie.
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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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There is power in seeing a face that looks like yours do something, be someone. There is power in moving from the sidelines to the center.
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Teenage years are all about crushes: crushes so deep you wanted to inhabit the other person, be inside their skin, see the world through their eyes.
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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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I learn so much on Twitter all the time, and it would be a shame not to share that with my readers.
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When I sold my first middle-grade novel in 2005, it wasn't that common to put an author photo on the back flap, but 24-year-old Korean-American me insisted. I wanted Asian girls to see my face. And more than that, I wanted them to see what is possible.
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I think most girls have that moment when boys they've known their whole life see them in a different way.
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I do end up revealing a lot online, but in books, what I reveal is more tailored. Authors can couch revelations in fiction. With social media, no one wants to watch or read if it doesn't feel authentic, so you end up giving away a lot of yourself.
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Every choice leads you somewhere, but it might not be where you truly want to be if the decision is based on someone else. It could lead to regrets and what-ifs, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't still have valuable experiences.
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As a child, I spent a lot of summers going to the beach with family friends.
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The books you read as a young person are books that stay with you forever. I think that is the biggest privilege of writing for young people. You feel like you can help shape somebody.
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You don't have to you change yourself for somebody else to like you.
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I really love to write about food, crafts, and fashion, so those details will always be a part of my books. I think they inject stories with color and flavor, providing a tactile experience.
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I had a bulletin board in my bedroom with every picture of Leo ever taken - keep in mind, this was pre-'Titanic' and pre-Us Weekly, practically pre-Internet. I had to buy 'The Leonardo DiCaprio Album' and cut out my favorite pics.
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It's far too rare an experience for Asian American girls to see themselves in media.
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Everything good, everythimg magical happens between the months of June and August.