We chat with debut author Rebecca Bendheim about When You’re Brave Enough, which is a heartfelt, gorgeously written debut middle grade novel about best friends, first crushes, and coming out—perfect for fans of Kyle Lukoff and Jake Maia Arlow.
Hi, Rebecca! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m an author of queer middle grade books, a former sixth grade English teacher, and a poet with the poetry troupe Typewriter Rodeo; we type custom poems on vintage typewriters!
I love writing character-driven stories about kids and teens who are working out who they are and how to be their authentic selves within their communities and relationships, from those with their siblings and parents to best friendships and first brushes with romance.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
My love of storytelling came first through “directing” my three younger siblings and cousins in elaborate plays that we’d perform for our parents. I’m lucky they were so patient, because the videos from that time show a very serious nine-year-old me demanding another take like some big shot Hollywood director. I remember looking out at the audience (my parents and maybe an uncle or aunt), seeing their mouths drop at a “twist,” and hearing them laugh when I hoped they would. I fell in love with watching a story that was once in my head become real.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton
- The one that made you want to become an author: I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The My Brilliant Friend series by Elena Ferrante. The cliffhanger enrages me (in a good way). And Elena and Lila are in love, right?
Your debut novel, When You’re Brave Enough, is out April 7th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
First kiss, but with who?
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect the introspective and emotional journey of an eighth grade girl figuring out she’s a lesbian mixed with a fun, theatre drama-filled mystery of who Lacey’s first kiss will be.
When You’re Brave Enough is about thirteen-year-old Lacey who’s excited to reinvent herself when she moves to a new school before eighth grade, especially since she’s always been known as the sidekick to her overeager lifelong best friend Grace. But when she gets the lead role in her school’s musical, where the students have a longstanding tradition that the lead couple has to kiss (for real!) in the final performance, and she has to choose between two male co-leads, Lacey has to figure out how to be herself, even if it means going against what everyone expects from her.
Where did the inspiration for When You’re Brave Enough come from?
I had my first crushes on girls from age nine to eleven, but didn’t come out until I was twenty, because so much of the culture and media I consumed told me that being a lesbian was a negative thing. I wanted to write a book about a girl who, like me, crushed on her best friend and felt alone and confused in those intense, complicated feelings, but instead of the crush being her worst nightmare, it becomes this beautiful, life-affirming first love.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved exploring two of the side characters, Violet and Jaden. Originally, they played a very small part in the novel, just two of the options for Lacey’s final performance kiss. But I was working on an early draft of When You’re Brave Enough while I was a camp counselor, and when my fourteen-year-old campers read the manuscript, they were obsessed with these characters. Two direct quotes from their notes were “Jaden = underrated king” and “Violet can step on me and I will thank her.” I listened to them and gave Violet and Jaden a lot more page time!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
One challenge I faced was how to have Lacey and Grace communicate from 2,000 miles apart when Grace doesn’t have a phone. Originally, I wanted them to write letters to each other (so romantic!) but my editor rightfully pointed out that it’s rare for kids to write letters these days. She suggested emails, but that felt too “corporate” to me, so she told me to try making the emails fun and just throw a bunch of ideas at the wall. Now, Lacey and Grace’s emails include video scripts, diagrams, photographs of flowers with special meanings, and even two original songs written by Lacey. The coolest part is that my amazing audiobook narrator, Gail Shalan, actually sings and plays the songs on ukulele in the audiobook!
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It is! I wrote my first manuscript in 2015. No one is EVER allowed to see it, but I’m grateful for all my shelved projects, because the best parts of them stay with me. In that first book, the older sister’s name was Grace, and she was very similar to Grace in When You’re Brave Enough.
In 2021, I signed with my agent, and we were on submission with When You’re Brave Enough for two years, with two different revise & resubmit requests from editors, one where I changed the entire book from a novel in verse to a prose novel, before we signed the contract with Penguin in 2024. Now, six years after I wrote the first draft and eleven years after starting to write seriously, I’ll officially be a published author!
My friends often express sympathy for how long it takes to publish a book, but that’s actually something I love about this career, at least for now. One of my favorite movies is Little Women (2019) and I always cry when Jo watches her book being made through the factory window. Each step, from brainstorming ideas to figuring out how your character would pronounce something for the audiobook, feels special to me, and at a time when so much is immediate, it feels like a gift to get to to take my time on something that means so much to me.
What’s next for you?
I have another queer middle grade book, How to Take a Risk, out in 2027! It’s about twelve-year-old adrenaline junkie Reagan who loves taking on dares with her best friend Zander each summer, from hill skateboarding to cliff jumping to sleeping in the cemetery. But when the summer before seventh grade brings big changes, from her mom’s pregnancy to Zander asking her to be his girlfriend, Reagan takes on increasingly scary risks to avoid the big emotions she’s really afraid of.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
One Word, Six Letters by Adib Khorram
Spells to Mend Broken Hearts by Marissa Macy
The Free Verse Society by Delali Adjoa
