Holly Bourne answers our questions about her novel The Yearbook (Usborne), following Paige as she gains the courage to stand up for herself at school and at home, which has been shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2022.
How would you describe your book to someone who hasn’t read it?
A book for anyone who has ever hated secondary school and hid in the library.
What inspired The Yearbook?
I was visiting my home town and I was in Café Nero, when one of the popular girls from my school came in. She’d been a terrible bully and actually hijacked our Year 11 yearbook to say horrible things about other students. I watched her push her designer pram in, wearing designer clothes, laughing and smiling with friends and felt this deep anger at her thriving as an adult when she had ruined so many students’ teenage years. It was so unfair and so I decided to write a story of what should’ve happened to her, examining the legacy of school bullying.
Which character in the book is your favourite, and why?
I wrote the character Aunty “Polly” — who has cats named after Keanu Reeves characters as a joke for my editor (as I’m obsessed with cats and Keanu Reeves). But we ended up loving her so much she stayed in the manuscript.
What’s your favourite scene in The Yearbook, and why?
I love the scene where Paige and Elijah go to a second-hand bookshop and look for marginalia in the books. I loved using this book to explore what the reading experience means to people and how you can interact with a text and challenge the storyteller.
What does being on this year’s YA Book Prize shortlist mean to you?
Have you seen the shortlist!? It’s incredible. I’m so honoured to be included alongside such amazing books.
What’s the best thing about writing for young adults?
The readers.
What was your favourite book as a teenager?
Angus, Thongs, And Full-Frontal Snogging.
What is your top writing tip?
Write. The. Book. So many people who want to write don’t actually write, they just read writing tips. You’ve got to actually write to be a writer.
What songs would be on a playlist for your book?
“Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” by Taylor Swift is literally this book personified.
Which book, film or TV show would you recommend to someone who enjoyed your book?
“Heathers” was my main inspiration for this book. Such a dark high school movie — highly recommend.
Read the first chapter of The Yearbook here
