Probably I, like a lot of people, became a writer in imitation of or in homage to the books I enjoyed. When you're so captivated by something, you think, could I do that? Hmm, let me try.

Well, I think that if you sincerely try to imagine what life is like for another person - not in a mocking way, not in a satirical way, but in a sincere, compassionate way - I don't think that's exploitive.

It's never that hard for me to imagine what it must feel like to be someone else, whether it's an American teenage girl or a Japanese octogenarian man.

When I was writing my first two books I was also freelancing and teaching and doing other odd jobs.

High school is very intense for everyone. But at a boarding school, because you're there 24 hours a day, everything gets magnified.

I enjoyed listening to it, but I didn't think I could do it.