In the dark you can feel really close to a person. You can say whatever you want. Jenny Han More Quotes by Jenny Han More Quotes From Jenny Han Happiness is a Slurpee and a hot pink straw. Jenny Han hot-pink straws hot If love is like a possession, maybe my letters are like my exorcisms. Jenny Han exorcism letters love-is 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. Jenny Han teen feel hero love I don't plan anything out, and I don't write in chronological order. The emotional tenor is what guides me, but a lot of it is feeling my way through the dark. That's okay if you have unlimited time to work and stumble upon things in a delightful way, but under a deadline, it can be really stressful. Jenny Han me you work time When you're young, you don't have a lot of control over even basic things in your life - where you live, what you eat, where you go during the day, how you get there. You don't have a lot of control, and that can feel sort of unstable in its own way because you don't get a say in those basic things. Jenny Han feel day you life You don't have to you change yourself for somebody else to like you. Jenny Han yourself like you change When you write something by hand, there's a sort of intimacy that is just intrinsic to that act. You don't get to delete something in the same way, where it's like it was never there. Jenny Han something never you way 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. Jenny Han home time food character 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. Jenny Han look me women age 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. Jenny Han experience fashion food love 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. Jenny Han someone choice you decision 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. Jenny Han feel you love life Just like Lara Jean in my book 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before,' I used to write letters to boys I was in love with - letters full of emotion and longing and also recrimination - but they were for my eyes only. Jenny Han loved eyes love book 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. Jenny Han skin eyes you world 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. Jenny Han face back see me 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. Jenny Han face someone power moving My sister is my very favorite person, and I dedicated 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' to her. Jenny Han her loved person sister 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. Jenny Han i-am place start me When I finished 'P.S. I Still Love You,' I truly was done with the series. I kept saying the books were two halves of a heart. But I suppose time and space had made me nostalgic, because my mind kept drifting back to Lara Jean and Peter, wondering what they were up to. Jenny Han me heart time love I try to be measured and thoughtful about what I put out there because I know a lot of young people follow me on Twitter, and I take that seriously - which is why I don't exclusively tweet about cookies and 'Game of Thrones' and YA. Jenny Han game know me people
