We chat with New York Times bestselling authors David Levithan and Jennifer Niven about their new book Take Me With You When You Go, which is a story of hope, siblinghood, and finding your home in the people who matter the most!
Hi, David and Jennifer! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourselves?
JN: Take Me With You When You Go is my eleventh book. My first two books were actually nonfiction accounts of Arctic expeditions, one from 1913, the other from 1921. I also wrote a memoir and a series of historical novels for adults about a girl named Velva Jean Hart who becomes a WASP and a spy in World War II. All the Bright Places was my first young adult book, and I co-wrote the script for the Netflix film version. When I’m not writing, I’m reading, dancing, rescuing cats, wandering Paris with my husband, and fangirling.
DL: I am basically reading and listening to music all the time. To date, not a single person has ever employed me to listen to music. BUT I was lucky to get a job as an editor, allowing me to read . . . professionally. So I work with other people’s words during the day, then at night (or, really, on weekends) I write my own books. Sometimes I write them alone. And sometimes, like now, I write them with a friend.
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!
JN: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, All of Judy Blume’s books, and Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
DL: Don’t Talk to Strangers, Cynthia Voigt’s Homecoming, and M. T. Anderson’s Feed
Take Me With You When You Go is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
JN: A brother-sister dramedy with heart. Alternately: Honest. Heartbreaking. Heart-filling. Funny. Hopeful.
DL: Let’s make our way through.
What can readers expect?
JN: Even though we never knew what the other was going to do, it was important to us to write from our hearts with honesty and care about the struggles Ezra and Bea were facing. This is definitely something that we’ve done in our other books, and the main reason for that is that we are passionate about reminding readers that they are seen and that they are not alone.
DL: The book is about a gay boy who wakes up one morning and finds that his sister has run away. They do not come from a happy home – so while she is out in the world, trying to figure out her way and untangle the past, he’s left at home to deal with all of the repercussions. Ezra doesn’t know where Bea is, or why she chose that particular day to leave. And Bea isn’t sure what life away from home will bring. So there’s a lot of uncertainty. But it’s also about making your way toward the life you want instead of being caught in the life you’ve been given.
How did Take Me With You When You Go come about?
JN: A reader asked me on Twitter who I would most like to write a book with and I said David Levithan. He happened to see my tweet, and one week later he sent me Ezra’s first chapter of the book and the message: Be careful what you wish for…
DL: Even though I’d written with many other friends before, I’d never tried to write an epistolary novel before – even though it seems like the most obvious form for collaboration! Because Jennifer and I didn’t really know each other well, even though we’d gotten along instantly, I knew that there would be more uncertainty between us than usual, so I decided to give us a premise where everything was unclear at the start – and then together we filled in the blanks, with Jennifer often surprising me immensely.
Can you tell us about any challenges you both faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
JN: When we first started writing the book, David and I both very involved in other projects, so Take Me With You When You Go was something we did when we had extra time. This often meant it took one of us weeks or months to get our next chapter(s) to the other. One of the great things about our particular process here—not discussing the plot or characters with each other— was that everything was just more reactive. So I never had time to overthink anything, which can sometimes slow me down and can get in my way. I just wrote whatever came out. I’m going to try to apply this to my solo writing from now on because it’s really freeing!
DL: Our writing schedules were almost ridiculously out of synch – I’d finish a solo novel and say, “Ready to go!” . . . and Jennifer would have just immersed herself in her own solo novel. But, as she says, it was a very easy book to return to, and I actually think the years we spent writing it got us to feel deeper into the characters than we would have if we’d written it at lightning speed.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
JN: I loved writing Bea. She and I are so different, and writing her was a challenge (in a great way). Because David and wrote the book without discussing the plot and without knowing what the other was going to do, I loved the moments when we really surprised each other. As in big twists and scenes that came as a complete shock to the other!
DL: I genuinely can’t think of a single answer to this question that wouldn’t be a spoiler to the reader!
What’s next for you both?
JN: I’m at work on my next solo YA novel and am finishing writing the script for the Holding Up the Universe movie.
DL: I’ll have two books coming out in 2022. One of them hasn’t been announced yet, and the other is the graphic novel adaptation of Every Day. It is being illustrated by Dion MBD – and he’s doing an extraordinary job of bringing it to life in that form.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
JN: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner. East Coast Girls by Kerry Kletter. When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis. Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden.
DL: Kaleidoscope by Brian Selznick, Things We Couldn’t Say by Jay Coles, Remedy by Eireann Corrigan, The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg, Loveless by Alice Oseman – I’m biased, because these are some of the YA I edited this year. But they’re all fantastic.
