GIRL ON THE VERGE by Pintip Dunn

It is a dream come true for me to share my stories with the world. My newest book, GIRL ON THE VERGE holds a very special place in my heart because it features a heroine who is Thai-American, just like me. 

My love for reading began at a young age. In fact, I read nearly every book in the children’s section at my public library. But as much as reading was my joy and solace, it also cemented my feelings of not belonging. 

I can't remember reading a book back then with a main character who looked like me. Even worse, I never even tried to imagine a character with my same physical features. In my few years of life, the message I'd received from the world was abundantly clear: People like you don't belong in books. People like you don't belong on the screen. People like you have no place in our collective creative consciousness.  

I've wanted to be an author ever since I was six years old, but I grew up believing that if I wanted to publish a book, I could only write about Caucasian characters. This wasn't so much an opinion but a fact of life. Just as the sky is blue. Just as the grass is green. Just as my skin is yellow. 

Fast forward thirty or so years, and something happened in the publishing industry. Something exciting and wonderful and ground-breaking, and I would be lying if I said it didn't completely blow my mind.  Campaigns like #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #OwnVoices emerged, and I learned that I could write about characters who looked like me.

PINTIP DUNN

Let me say that again because it was such a revelation: I could write about characters. Who. Looked. Like. Me. 

My first thought, of course, was of my children. As a parent, I try to give them all the things I lacked as a child. And now, I can give them the ultimate gift of all: a main character who shares their cultural heritage. 

I think this is vitally important for my children to see. I want them to grow up knowing that they are loved and valued and worthy. I want to give them a childhood where they don't feel erased, an existence where they aren't pushed to the edges of society. Stories like this help me do that.

I am so very grateful I was given this opportunity.  

 Author bio:

Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL.

FORGET TOMORROW

Pintip is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. Her novel, FORGET TOMORROW, won the RWA RITA® for Best First Book. In addition, it is a finalist for the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, the Japanese Sakura Medal, and the MASL Truman Award. In addition to the FORGET TOMORROW series, her other books include THE DARKEST LIE and GIRL ON THE VERGE.

She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. You can learn more about Pintip and her books at www.pintipdunn.com

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GIRL ON THE VERGE releases June 27, 2017!

From the author of The Darkest Lie comes a compelling, provocative story for fans of I Was Here and Vanishing Girls, about a high school senior straddling two worlds, unsure how she fits in either—and the journey of self-discovery that leads her to surprising truths.
In her small Kansas town, at her predominantly white school, Kanchana doesn’t look like anyone else. But at home, her Thai grandmother chides her for being too westernized. Only through the clothing Kan designs in secret can she find a way to fuse both cultures into something distinctly her own.

When her mother agrees to provide a home for a teenage girl named Shelly, Kan sees a chance to prove herself useful. Making Shelly feel comfortable is easy at first—her new friend is eager to please, embraces the family’s Thai traditions, and clearly looks up to Kan. Perhaps too much. Shelly seems to want everything Kanchana has, even the blond, blue-eyed boy she has a crush on. As Kan’s growing discomfort compels her to investigate Shelly’s past, she’s shocked to find how it much intersects with her own—and just how far Shelly will go to belong…