The reality of racism in the world of 1937 East Texas didn’t seem like something I could-or should-varnish in any way. You can tell that the frank depictions of consensual sexual activity is where I feel myself most challenged, but the racism and abuse that are part of the story in Out of Darkness are probably what’s harder for readers to contend with. As Andrew puts it, it’s easier to go too far and then scale things back than to strike the right note by trying to tiptoe forward.

He’s probably one of very few YA editors who sends emails that say things like, “could the sexual details in this scene be a little more explicit, not so coy?” Speaking more broadly, I’ve found it useful to give myself permission to cross even my own boundaries if I felt like doing so would help me get a scene closer to where I wanted it to be. It’s just that Andrew Karre (my editor for Out of Darkness as well as for The Knife and the Butterfly and What Can’t Wait) has always seemed more interested in pushing or crossing boundaries than in upholding them. Wait–there are boundaries to young adult fiction? No one told me!! Really, though, I shouldn’t be glib. Talk about shaping these elements within the boundaries of young-adult fiction. You don’t shy away from controversial territory! This story contains sexual abuse, incest, brutal racism and frank sexuality. When we got back, I used the novel as a daily carrot to motivate my academic writing: if I got my words on the dissertation done, I got to take some time for the fiction. I gave myself that year off from academic research. I taught a ton of university English classes, ate yards and yards of bread, and worked on the first draft of the novel. When you put it like that, it does sound pretty outrageous! The short answer is that, when our first son was one, we moved to Paris for a year.

How did you manage to write such an ambitious novel with so much else going on in your life? Click here to read Ashley’s post about her work on this novel, and for more insight, see our Q&A with her below.Īshley, in the last two years, you finished your doctoral dissertation, changed jobs and geographical locations, and gave birth to a second child. Amanda MacGregor of Teen Librarian Toolbox said, “Pérez’s story is nothing short of brilliant”, and we wholeheartedly agree! In fact, we think it’s one of the best 2015 releases! If it’s not on your to be read list, it should be. Using multiple points of view, Ashley develops a cast of complex characters who confront brutal racism and violence in addition to the beauty of first love. We’re so thrilled to begin our third year online with a celebration of Out of Darkness by our amiga and co-blogger, Ashley Hope Pérez! Her third novel, which released September 1, is historical fiction, with a deadly school explosion in East Texas in 1937 as its central event.

Out of darkness ashley hope