For fans of Sarah Dessen and Mary H.K. Choi, The Other Side of Perfect is a lyrical and emotionally driven novel follows Alina, a young aspiring dancer who suffers a devastating injury and must face a world without ballet—as well as the darker side of her former dream.
We had the pleasure of chatting with debut author Mariko Turk all about The Other Side of Perfect, as well as writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Mariko! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! So, I used to know a lot about myself, but I had a baby 6 months ago and being responsible for a tiny human during a pandemic has done things to my memory. I do know that I live in Boulder, Colorado, and that I studied children’s literature in both college and grad school. I seem to recall that I enjoy reading, walking, and watching movies. I also love to sleep and hope to do more of it one day.
How is your 2021 going in comparison to that other year?
Balancing being a new mom and a debut author at the same time is intense, but 2021 feels a lot more hopeful than 2020 did. Plus, I’m almost all-the-way vaccinated! Yay!
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
First book I remember reading: Kristy’s Great Idea (Babysitter’s Club #1).
Book that made me want to become an author: I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
Book I can’t stop thinking about: Beloved, by Toni Morrison
When did you first discover your love for writing?
College. I think I discovered it later than a lot of writers. College is when I really started to love reading, which led to loving writing. Also, I went to the University of Pittsburgh, which has a renowned program in children’s and young adult literature. So at the same time as I was learning to love writing, I was also learning how complex, fascinating, and important books for young people are. When I finally decided to try writing a book, I’m not surprised that the first idea I had was a story for young people.
Your debut YA novel The Other Side of Perfect is out on May 11th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Ballet! Musicals! Pain! Swoon! Hope!
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect a ballet book that challenges ballet’s racist history, a love story where the heroine often does unlovable things, and a rom-com with both fluffy and serious moments.
Where did the inspiration for The Other Side of Perfect come from?
Growing up, dancing was a big part of my life, though I was never even close to being good enough to be on the professional track. When I was in my twenties, I broke my leg while I was dancing ballet. It required a long recovery time and meant my dancing abilities would never be the same. Despite that, I remember being so grateful that the injury hadn’t happened when I was a teenager, because dancing was such a huge part of my identity then that losing it would have been devastating. And what if I had been on the professional track? What then?
I’ve also always been interested in how people grapple with the negative aspects of the things they love. I love ballet, but I know it has its share of harmful aspects—like its lack of diversity and its reliance on racial stereotypes in many classical pieces. So if ballet perpetuates these negative things, does that mean I shouldn’t love it? And if I do still love and support it, what does that mean about me?
I thought about those questions a lot as I got older, and they combined with memories of my injury. I started imagining what would happen if a 16-year-old half-Japanese girl who dreamed of dancing professionally had a career-ending injury and had to deal with losing something she loved with all her heart and with wondering if she ever should have loved it in the first place.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
In my first draft of the book, Alina handled her loss relatively easily. I felt so much for her situation that I wanted her to get through it as unscathed as possible. But that didn’t make for a very exciting or emotionally compelling story. The journey through an unexpected, life-altering change would not be an easy one for Alina or for any other young person.
So, even though it was hard to hurt my character, I thought honestly about how tumultuous Alina’s emotions would be in this situation, and how difficult—or impossible—the recovery process would seem to her at times. Once I let her have those messy feelings, the story became richer and more honest.
Is there anything you hope readers take away from The Other Side of Perfect?
I hope the book shows readers that there’s a way out of isolation and unhappiness. And that finding the way out might be tough, messy, and take longer than you want it to, but that it can also be funny, exciting, and full of unexpectedly spectacular possibilities.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
The Best: Don’t fret too much about a first draft. First drafts just have to exist. Revision is where everything comes together.
The Worst: I don’t think anyone ever gave this to me as advice, but I think the misconception that books spring fully formed from an author’s mind—without input or feedback from others—is harmful. It’s not true, and it sets up impossible expectations.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on my next YA contemporary, which features a haunted hotel!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Yes, here are some contemporary YA recs!
For a really interesting heroine who has an incredible arc: The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo
For a book with high school theatre and a precious cinnamon roll love interest: Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
For a contemporary that does the unexpected: Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
