We had the opportunity of sitting down with Rachael Allen to talk all about her recent release The Summer of Impossibilities, her writing plans for the future, and her stance on what makes a friendship work! Plus, she even gives us a deleted scene from her novel!
Hi there, Rachael! Thanks so much for sitting down with us! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Sure thing! And thank you so much for having me! I’m a scientist by day, and I work in a hospital where I do research on diabetes. By night, I’m a crime-fighting superhero. (Kidding – I write Young Adult books.) I live in Atlanta with my husband, two kiddos, and two dogs that look like dire wolves. And also, I have the best friends in the whole world.
If you had to choose between either only being able to reread books for the rest of your life or only read new books, what would you choose?
Oh, wow, this is so hard. The Harry Potter series alone. But then I think, what if the next Becky Albertalli or Laini Taylor or Elizabeth Acevedo book came out and I didn’t get to read it? So, I’d have to go with only reading…new books. Whew. I’m kind of sweating now.
If you had to describe The Summer of Impossibilities in five words, what would those be?
Girls changing each other’s worlds
The mothers all listen to Journey together – flashforward into the future, maybe 20 years. What do you think the gals from this book would listen to while reminiscing about the past?
Lizzo, for sure. Probably some Kesha and Billie Eilish too.
I absolutely loved all of the different POVs and characters! Can we have some random information for each of the girls that isn’t shared in the novels?
Amelia Grace: I don’t know if anyone’s going to notice this because the girls spend most of their time at the lake house, but if you look carefully, Amelia Grace’s hometown is the same town from my second novel, The Revenge Playbook, and you might recognize a character or two.
Scarlett: The part of Scarlett’s character that got revised the most is her jerky boyfriend. My editor and I really spent a lot of time thinking about exactly what brand of jerk we wanted him to be, haha.
Skyler: My mom is Christian, and my stepdad is Jewish, and I really want to see more families like mine in books (interfaith families where religion is not a capital “I” Issue). Because of how old I was when they got married, I 100% identify as Christian, but sometimes I think, if my mom and stepdad had had a daughter, what would she be like? I feel like she’d be a lot like Skyler, so in a lot of ways, writing Skyler felt like writing my pretend little sister into a book.
Ellie: For Ellie, I have a full on deleted mini-scene for you! Ellie struggles a lot with making friends, I think because she feels a lot of pressure to make a certain kind of friend without realizing that maybe that isn’t the best kind of friend for her. Here’s a flashback to Ellie in middle school:
There was time in seventh grade with these girls, Tracey and Evangeline. Sometimes I’d see them at the neighborhood pool or walking around just the two of them. (Sometimes, they had boys with them.)
At the pool, they’d set up court with tie dye towels instead of Disney Princess and frozen grapes instead of Cheetohs and monokinis instead of just a one piece or two piece from Old Navy. It was more coolness than my seventh grade brain could handle.
I would pick a chair as close to theirs as I dared – definitely not near the girls whose moms still made them wear swim shirts in middle school or the girls who spent the whole time diving for rings. Though that did look kind of fun.
Then one day, I finally got my chance. Tracy and Evangeline were walking down my street, and I just happened to be waiting at my window and watching through my blinds. It was like fate.
I sprinted to my front door, opened it, calmly walked to check the mail. “Oh. Hey, Tracy. Hey, Evangeline.”
Cool as you please.
“Hey,” Evangeline said back. “Ellie, right?”
I smiled (but not too big, obvs). “Yeah.”
AND THEN they invited me over to Evangeline’s house. AND there were boys. AND we played Pirate’s Dice.
And the boys were trying their best to beat each other, so I figured that’s what you’re supposed to do, so on my next turn, I maybe kind of took out Evangeline.
“I mean, whatever, it’s just a dice game. I don’t really take it that seriously.”
The other girls froze. Glanced at me and then waited for Evangeline’s next word.
“Yeah, the point is to just have fun,” said Tracy.
“Right, yeah, sorry. I guess I just got a little excited.”
“It’s cool,” said Evangeline. But as she said it, she leaned away from me, just the smallest movement. The other girls shifted too, realigning themselves. I guess it wasn’t cool after all.
I blushed.
I stared into my Coke cup like it contained the future.
I kept my competitive side dialed down for the rest of the game.
I was never invited to Evangeline’s house again.
And I learned my lesson: Girls aren’t allowed to want things. Not too badly and not too openly. Not if they want the other girls to like them.
The Summer of Impossibilities is your fourth novel – what is your favorite part about writing and what’s your least favorite?
The best part is creating whole worlds inside your head. And when you write a part that makes you laugh or cry. And knowing that the words you’ve written might be exactly the words someone somewhere needs to read.
The worst part is how every time I start a book, I think I’m going to write an amazing first draft, and when I (inevitably) don’t, I feel like, “That’s it. I’m a failure. I am never going to be able to write a book again.” Because the thing is, when a book goes to print, so many people have helped you make it better until it’s beautiful and perfect. But I forget that. Every time. I would write a note for my future self, but I know it won’t help.
Friendship is the central theme of your novel. What do you think are the pillars of a good friendship?
I think loyalty, kindness, humor, honesty, and understanding are all really important. Also, being willing to help hide the bodies.
If your novel got developed into a movie, who would be your dream cast for Skyler, Scarlett, Ellie and Amelia Grace?
Ellie: Ananya Panday
Scarlett: Katherine Langford
Skyler: Hailee Steinfeld
Amelia Grace: Ruby Rose (except, like, as a teen)
Beyond The Summer of Impossibilities releasing in May, what’s next for you? Are you working on another project already and can maybe share something with us?
I’d really love to write something for younger readers someday, like a middle grade or chapter book. I’ve been working on one about three little girls who aren’t allowed to do science, so they sneak out at midnight and do secret science. I’m also co-writing a YA love story with a friend, and I’m extremely excited about that one.
Last but not least, are there any books you’d like to recommend our readers?
Ohmygosh, so many!
Thriller: What We Buried by Kate Boorman is the best thriller I’ve read in ages. It’s about a brother and sister who go on a road trip, and reality starts to melt around them. Gorgeous writing, atmospheric, plot twists that will leave you thinking about the book for weeks after.
Horror: Eight Will Fall by Sarah Harian. Okay, so this one is more like horror and dark fantasy had a baby, so it has super creative world building and an amazing cast of characters, but also it will scare the bejesus out of you.
Contemporary: I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal. A black girl and a white girl have to band together to survive a race riot. This book will change how you think about the world.
Contemporary again because I love contemporary: Salty Bitter Sweet by Mayra Cuevas. This book is such a sweet and beautiful story about family, food, friendship, and love. It’ll make you smile for days.
Verse: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is so perfect, and I don’t even know how to talk about it properly other than to just say, “Read it, please!”
And in books that aren’t out yet (I beta read the first two, and you’re going to love them. I haven’t read the second two yet, but guess what, YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE THEM):
- Recommended for You by Laura Silverman (Out September 1, 2020)
- Above All Else by Dana Alison Levy (Out October 13, 2020)
- The Summer of Everything by Julian Winters (Out September 8, 2020)
- Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler (Out 2021 – Yes, that’s a long time from now. Yes, I’m crying about it.)
