There's some of me in all my characters.
My whole life, as an adult as well, I've been attracted to stories about young people. This period of time is so fertile - there's a million things that are happening, a million firsts, and to be able to witness that and record that is a privilege.
I just think of myself as a writer. Yes, I'm a woman. And I'm a writer. The main challenge is that I like to write stories about young women, and society doesn't place much of a premium on young women's stories. And I think that's why I gravitate towards it. I really honor that, and I treasure that time, and they should be given that respect.
All my writer friends outline their books, and I find that hard. It doesn't feel inspired to me. I get bored with that, and really, I just want it to be fun.
I think most girls have that moment when boys they've known their whole life see them in a different way.
I write diverse books because the world we live in is diverse, and I want my books to reflect that truth.
I don't think kids of color should have to search far and wide to find books that reflect their experience.
Beyonce, Otis Redding, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, and Adele are a few of my favorites.
I don't think you ever love anything as passionately as you do when you're a teen. You remember the books you read as a young person your whole life. I feel so lucky to write for young adults.
I worked on 'Always and Forever, Lara Jean' for a few months before I breathed a word of it my editor or agent.
The feedback for 'P.S. I Still Love You' has been pretty amazing. To have written this story about this family with Asian-American characters and be so embraced is really incredible for me as a writer as well as a person of color.
I like to read non-fiction on my e-reader, but as for fiction, I usually like to have a copy to keep at home.
There are so many people that want to tell stories. I think that the issue is how hard it is to get your foot in the door to tell your stories.
I think, generally, romantic stories end with people together. But I'd like a story that ends, like, hopefully but not necessarily neatly.
Sometimes readers want some escapist fun, to get lost in the story. But light-hearted romantic stories can and should star all kinds of girls.
Even as a full-grown adult, it can still feel destabilizing when your family goes through changes.
We learn so much about the world by what we take in through movies and TV and books - we learn who's worthy of having their story told.
I always know what time it is.
I think that, oftentimes, what people say is, 'We need an actress who'll be able to greenlight a movie,' and my counterargument to that is always that, when it comes to a teen movie, you have very few people who can greenlight a movie.
The American girl doesn't look just one kind of way - not in 2018, not ever.
