Sara Shepard

“I kept a journal when I was a teenager, so I definitely look back on those to see how I dealt with friends and cliques and getting picked on, or boyfriend breakups.”

“For me, writing for younger audiences and writing for adults uses two different halves of my brain.”

“I do a lot of revising on paper. Sometimes I think I should just write longhand - what I type reads very different once I print it out.”

“We did all the tourist crap, but I just wanted to sit in a cafe and watch people”

“,the rest of the girls pretended not to notice. That's just what best friends do.”

“No one believes a liar. Even when she's telling the truth.”

“Before you enbark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”

“Its more fun to think of the future than dwell on the past.”

“I know these are going to sound like school reading-list suggestions, but if you like dystopian fiction, you should check out some of the originals: 'Anthem,' by Ayn Rand; '1984,' by George Orwell; or 'Brave New World,' by Aldous Huxley.”