We chat with Yvonne Woon, acclaimed author of the Dead Beautiful series and the YA contemporary If You, Then Me, that gives an exclusive insight into the seemingly impenetrable Silicon Valley. We got to ask Yvonne all our questions surrounding her newest release, favourite coding characters and much more!
Hi, Yvonne! Thanks for joining us! Why don’t you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Thanks for having me! I grew up in Massachusetts, but moved to New York for college, where I stayed for a decade, so I still have strong opinions about bagels, pizza, and public transportation. I got my MFA in fiction there, then moved to Palo Alto with my boyfriend, who was starting law school. While he went to class, I worked a bunch of odd-jobs, including dog walker, which is how I got to know my way around Silicon Valley, where my book is set. Let’s see, what else? I’m half Malaysian Chinese, half white. I love cats and dim sum and cold beaches in the winter. I live in Atlanta now, where I’m still getting used to the heat and the driving.
With everything going on in the world right now, what are some things that make you happy? Any new hobbies you picked up or new things you’ve tried out during the pandemic?
Well, I had a baby during the pandemic, so I’ve actually only lost hobbies (sob!). Pre-baby, I spent a lot of lovely evenings watching old episodes of the Great British Bake Off and then attempting to make a baked good from the show (they all came out delicious but incredibly ugly). Post-baby, I got very into Madeline Miller’s books (Circe and Song of Achilles) and now consider myself a superfan. I’ve also listened to the You’re Wrong About podcast, which kept me company through many sleepless nights with a newborn and a toddler. I attempted gardening very briefly, but everything I planted died except the parsley, which took over an entire garden bed, so we’ve been eating a lot of parsley-forward meals. (If anyone reading this has any slamming recipes that use parsley, please get in touch).
Now, tell us about If You, Then Me! What can readers expect?
IF YOU, THEN ME is a story about a teenage girl, Xia Chan, who gets into an elite tech school where she’s given *a lot* of money, exposure and unlimited access to the spoils of Silicon Valley, and then discovers that her anonymous crush is there, too. There’s an artificial intelligence character named Wiser, a charismatic female founder, and a party scene at a venture capitalist’s office that was my personal favorite scene to write. I hope, at the very least, that it’s a book that makes readers laugh.
What inspired you to write Xia’s story?
I lived in Palo Alto for three years and have always wanted to write about it. Coming from the East Coast, it really felt like I was stepping into an alternate dimension where everything was perfect, everyone had money, and the days were always sunny and beautiful. While I lived there, I kept hearing these stories about teenagers who dropped out of school to move to California and start a tech company, and they all seemed too rosy to be true. I thought it would be fun to explore what would really happen if you gave teenagers a lot of money, power, and responsibility.
I was hooked by the premise and execution of this book! It’s so rare to see women, especially young girls, shining in STEM-related subjects and as fellow programmer, I loved this exposure to the tech world! What do you want readers to take away from If You, Then Me?
Thank you so much! Though I did a lot of research, I’m not a programmer, so that means a lot to me coming from one! What I remember most about being a teenager is constantly trying to figure out who I was and what kind of person I wanted to be. I kept trying on different versions of myself, seeing which one felt the best. Though the book is about a girl being thrown into the glittery and often exploitative world of tech, at its heart, it’s about how we decide what kind of people we want to be. If there is a takeaway it’s that you don’t have to get it right the first time, and actually, most people don’t.
If you had the chance to ask your future self (AI or not) two questions, what would they be and what would you hope the answers to be?
Such a great question.
1. Of the myriad worries I have right now, which are worth worrying about and which aren’t?
I hope she’d say: You’ll continue to write books that bring you joy, your kids will be just fine, and you’ll eventually have time to spend the weekend reading books again. Just wear more sunscreen, keep flossing, and everything else will work itself out in the end.
2. What does the world look like in the future?
I hope she’d say: Gentler and more compassionate, with a climate that’s no longer spiraling out of control.
Without spoiling too much, what was your favorite scene to write and which one gave you the most trouble?
There’s a party scene at a venture capital firm that was by far my favorite to write and is still my favorite to read. It’s written as a broken memory, with Xia piecing together fragments of what happened that night. Writing it was so fun, and felt like a process of discovery.
The hardest scene to write was the scene at Mike’s house (another party scene!) (I promise, the book has much more to it than party scenes!). There were so many components to that scene, with so many characters interacting, and then a big event at the end, that I found it tricky to balance all of the moving parts.
Who are your favorite coding characters in books and movies?
This isn’t exactly a character since she’s a real person, but I was fascinated by Elizabeth Holmes from the podcast The Dropout. All of the characters on the show Silicon Valley, though Jared Dunn made me laugh the most. Like everyone else in the world, I loved The Social Network and was fascinated by its characters. I’ve also been meaning to read the Secret Coders series by Gene Luen Yang.
And speaking of movies, if If You, Then Me were to be adapted for the big screen, what scene would you be most excited to see played out?
So much of Xia’s personality for me is in her humor and her inner dialogue. I’d love to see how that translates to a movie, and how Wiser, her AI tool, would translate. I’d also love to see the makeover scene and Mitzy’s house.
With If You, Then Me releasing soon, are you already working on another project? If so, can you share a sneak peek with us?
I am! I’m working on a young adult mystery novel about a teenage “fixer,” or disaster consultant, in a competitive Washington DC-area high school, where she confidentially solves problems for her wealthy classmates that they can’t ask their parents to fix for them. But when she’s hired to investigate her ex-best friend, she witnesses an incident that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her school and herself.
Last but not least, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
I just read Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson and loved it. Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong.
I wish there were more books like if you then me.