Article contributed by Raathi Chota
Kelly Yang is the New York Times best-selling author of the novel FRONT DESK, which won the 2019 Asian Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature, and her first ever YA Fiction novel, Parachutes, releases on May 26th. With humour and romance, it talks about the challenges faced with immigrants, pressures of high school, parents, and friends. Two girls from different economic backgrounds and living under the same roof when something unexpected brings them together.
With the release of Parachutes happening soon, we had the pleasure of interviewing Kelly Yang herself! You can find Kelly online at Twitter, Instagram, and kellyyang.com.
Hi Kelly Yang! First off, I want to say that I love the book and I know many readers will too. This is your first Young Adult novel. No matter the age since there’s a spread of young adults and adults who read young adult fiction, what can your readers expect with Parachutes?
They can expect a modern immigrant story! I really wanted to capture the experience of coming to the US as a teenager on your own, without your parents, and all the exhilaration and the dangers that come with that. Parachutes is a novel that delves deep into wealth, power, privilege, family, and what it means to speak up in today’s world.
What inspired you to take a step back from Middle Grade Fiction and write Young Adult?
I wanted to be able to capture the intense emotions of being a teenager, on the cusp of becoming an adult, realizing all the hard truths about the world – your parents aren’t perfect, the world is unjust – but still finding the courage to fight for what’s right.
In a past writing class, you spoke on how it was writing two separate books then combining it into one. How did you go from Claire’s lifestyle and voice to Dani’s lifestyle and voice? How did you switch perspectives effortlessly to make them have unique voices?
Good question! It was really hard! I think I related to both characters in different ways. I was a scholarship student like Dani. I grew up in similar circumstances – my parents cleaned rooms – so it was easy for me to tap into all the hardship and frustration she’s feeling – and also all the hope! The hope that if she could just win this debate, their lives would change. As for Claire, I related to her fear and thrill and panic of having to go off to this strange place all by herself because I went to law school in Boston by myself at the age of 17.
You could’ve made Dani any nationality. Why did you choose Filipino instead of Chinese, like Claire?
As a creator, it’s important to me to see more Asian American representation on the page, not just Chinese-American and East-Asian representation but also Southeast Asian American representation. I wanted to tell a true modern immigrant story. Growing up in Southern California, so many of my best friends were Filipino-American and so many of my dear friends to this day are Filipino, so I really wanted to bring that representation to the page.
The book itself deals with so many real life issues, not only those that Claire and Dani face but also the other characters too. Which character, that you related to the most, was the easiest to write?
Probably Dani was the easiest to write because she just came so fully formed to me. I think she reminds me of an older Mia Tang. She has such a fiery voice. The scenes of Claire and her parents, particularly her mom, were also really fascinating for me to write.
Even though we don’t hear Dani’s debating often, her last one was empowering and had to be a memorable scene in the book. It was so moving and brought me to tears at three in the morning. Is there a particular scene in the book that was your favorite to write?
My favorite scene to write was probably Claire and Jay roaming around Newport Beach, feeling so adult because they’re on their own, without their parents. They have their own car, they’re driving down the beach, just feeling like the sky’s the limit, and yet they are still met with shocking discrimination when they go into a house on Balboa Island. It’s just a raw, honest scene.
In chapter eighty, there’s the line: “Being strong doesn’t mean never hurting”. This piece of dialogue touches not only on the characters but the readers as well. Were there lines in the book you wrote that you just sat back and admired?
My favorite line is – your voice is your armor! That’s the line from the book that I think really sums it up the best.
What I loved about Parachutes was that everyone had their own challenges that they went through. Not only Dani and Claire but also Ming, Zach, and Jess as well as Florence. Is it possible to have a companion novel in the future?
Maybe! Jess in particular was really really fun to write – I’d love to spend more time with her!
One of Parachutes’ main topics that brought the themes together was the pressure exerted on most of the characters. Do you endure any pressure as an author? If so, was there any pressure entering the Young Adult world?
Absolutely! It’s definitely true that the more successful of a writer you are, the more pressure there is. No one’s really telling you this pressure explicitly, but you feel like because you know all the indicators of a “successful” book – all the starred reviews, lists, etc. So there’s a lot of pressure and it can be pretty scary. I’ve tried my best to cope by shutting out the noise as much as I can. I’ll turn off my email for half the day and just focus on the words on the page – if the words make me laugh or cry or smile, then I think I’m ok – that’s the measurement of my success.
As an Asian American, how important is Parachutes to the world right now in terms of COVID-19, racism, and money being the centre of attention?
I think it’s critically important right now to read works by Asian American authors and other authors of color. We need to read and watch stories to get us through this hard time and to discover all the things we share – the commonalities that bind us as a human species. That’s how we’re going to get through this difficult time, stronger, together.
What do you hope readers can take away from Parachutes?
I hope Parachutes shines a light on rape culture and the roles played by many at even the highest levels of institutions that allow it to persist. My greatest hope is that after reading Parachutes, teens will be better prepared to deal with the world – and to change it.
What can readers expect from you next?
Readers can expect THREE KEYS, my highly anticipated sequel to FRONT DESK, coming out in Sept! And after that, more middle grade and YA novels from me coming out in 2021 and 2022! XOXO
