Nope, I don’t feel bad about this. I’m going to pull this prank on my brother and then I’m going to go in my room and laugh about it. I’m not going to be sad. So she has surprised me and making sure that I don’t make her too good and too kind and too thoughtful. But then I keep her right at that age of figuring herself out and playing with the idea that you can grow into a better self. She’s always being pushed to live up to her name, which means king to be a leader. And so what are qualities that good leaders should have? They should be, should be thoughtful. And so she’s trying to do that. But it’s hard to do that when you have a brother who sometimes isn’t his best self to you. You have this boy in class who’s teasing you about your name. So it’s been fun to put her in situations that test her, where sometimes she rises to the occasion and she is her best self. And then other times not so much. And to let young people know that is exactly where you’re supposed to be in the fifth grade. You should be figuring it out and you don’t have to be perfect.
When the first two books came out, we were still in the pandemic, and so there were no author visits in person. It was sad to put a book out in the world and then not be able to be with the folks you’re writing for. So I just now have started to tour for the book and be out in classrooms. And now since we’re on book three, had some kind of staying power. Young people have read all the books. And so it’s very different going out when a book is brand new and not that many people know the character versus going out now. And so many young people have devoured the books and have so many thoughts about Brandon, so much to say about the friendships and Amanda and Red and all of that. So it’s been lovely going out and talking to young people about their responses to Ryan and to what she’s going through.