We chat with author Farrah Penn about Cancelled, which is a funny, fearless novel about the realistic pitfalls and unforgettable moments high school has to offer, perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Emma Lord.
Hi, Farrah! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! I’m a writer who currently resides in Los Angeles but grew up near Dallas, Texas. I used to work in media, but lately I spend my time writing books and scripts. When I’m not doing that, I’m most likely enjoying the outdoors or trying new coffee shops in the area. My best companion is my dog Gizmo, who looks exactly like the gremlin he was named after.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
My grandmother was a huge reason why I grew up a voracious reader. One of her favorite pastimes was reading with her grandkids, so my love of storytelling only grew from there. I’m a millennial, so back then I was consuming Mary-Kate & Ashley chapter books and Goosebumps—anything written by Meg Cabot and Sarah Dessen. So I really credit her for instilling that initial love for reading, which then gave me courage to try writing my own stories.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Goodnight Moon
- The one that made you want to become an author: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I listened to How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water on audiobook and it was so, SO fantastic, though it did make me cry. Highly recommend!
Your latest novel, Cancelled, is out March 19th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Olivia Rodrigo’s “Brutal” as a book. (That’s six words, I cheated! I’m sorry!!
What can readers expect?
Cancelled is a young adult contemporary novel that (I hope) feels a little like those early ‘00s comedies we know and love. It follows an 18-year-old high school senior named Brynn, a known serial dater, who is falsely framed for hooking up with her ex best friend’s boyfriend at a Halloween party, and in turn, must figure out if exposing the real person is worth destroying everything she’s worked for. At its core, it’s a novel about the strength of friendship, learning to lean on others, and staying true to who you are even when everyone thinks negatively of you.
Where did the inspiration for Cancelled come from?
I went to a private middle school and a public high school and, strangely enough, two scandals that happened at those schools ended up on national news. They were nothing like what happens to Brynn in Cancelled, but when you tell people about two separate national scandals at two different schools, I found they’ll usually have a story about a scandal that happened—way more insularly—at their school. And I thought, damn! It’s so hard trying to get through high school on top of dealing with all this judgment from your peers, and that led to me wondering what it would look like for Brynn, especially during an era where students are so locked into social media and technology.
The other part to this novel’s inspiration was me asking the question, “What if Hitch was a teenage girl? What would that look like?” And also, “What kind of person shows up to a high school party in a banana costume?” That was someone I wanted to know—to be friends with.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Getting to tackle sex positivity in a way that, I hope, is meaningful and important. Not treating sexuality or sex education like a taboo topic and challenging what’s considered “normal” about what we’ve been taught. Because one person’s “normal” is going to look very different to someone else. And also, do you remember talking to your friends when you were younger and someone would be like, “Did you make it to first base?” And then it would lead to this discussion of, “Wait, what’s first base? Is it kissing? Is it making out? So, then what’s second base? And third?” And I wanted readers to understand that this is YOUR baseball game, you know? You define those boundaries for what your relationship and experiences look like, because it’s different for everyone.
What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned as a writer between your debut and this release?
Oh, great question! Stepping away from the laptop, for sure. Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed I’ll go on a walk or talk to a friend or schedule a therapy session instead of going into spiral mode, which I found I did more often in my debut year just because everything is so new and intimidating, and you’re trying to navigate it to the best of your ability. There’s so much you can’t control in publishing, so I’ve also learned it’s important to celebrate the small victories along the way.
What’s next for you?
I’ve been saying the quick pitch is YA Kate and Leopold meets Back to the Future—so I’m still writing young adult contemporary but with a speculative twist. It follows a people pleasing girl named Delaney who thinks she’s going to have a very normal senior year at an east coast boarding school, but somehow winds up accidentally bringing an 18-year-old British nobleman from 1859 into her present-day reality. And she’s forced to work alongside her brother’s best friend—this math-loving gamer boy who’s scorned her in the past—to figure out how the hell this happened.
So it’s a little bonkers. And funny, because what do you mean a hot Victorian guy isn’t in the right timeline?? But at its emotional core, it’s my book tackling grief. My dad died when I was 26, and I wanted to explore loss and the way we remember people and memory specifically, all the ways we savor our time with each other. How we live on this strange and beautiful and weird planet in a galaxy we’re still trying to understand.
Lastly, are there any book releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?
I’m so glad you asked! I’m reading A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal currently, but I’m looking forward to reading Past Present and Future by Rachel Lynn Solomon, Shadows of Perl by J.Elle, The New Camelot by Robyn Schneider, Another First Chance by Robbie Couch, Medici Heist by Caitlin Schneiderhan, and I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang. There are so many more. SO many! I could go on. I won’t, but I could.
