You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
YA Book Prize shortlist: Tanya Byrne talks about Afterlove
Caroline CarpenterCaroline is deputy features editor at The Bookseller and chair of the YA Book Prize, as well as being a co-host of children's book radio ...more
Tanya Byrne answers our questions about her novel Afterlove (Hachette Children’s), a sapphic love story following Ash and Poppy who won’t be kept apart even by death, which has been shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2022.
Caroline is deputy features editor at The Bookseller and chair of the YA Book Prize, as well as being a co-host of children's book radio ...more
How would you describe your book to someone who hasn’t read it?
Afterlove is a story about first and last love that centres around a couple who refuse to be separated by anything, even death.
What inspired the story?
My second novel was going to be about a 16-year-old grim reaper, but I couldn’t make it work, so I put it in a drawer and didn’t think about it again. Then my mother passed away and, as a writer, the only way I could process my grief was by writing through it. I couldn’t stop thinking about all of those things we want when we lose someone we love and how we just want one more day with them and I asked myself what if we could have that? Then I remembered the grim reaper idea and when I put the two things together, I had Afterlove.
Which character in the book is your favourite, and why?
I should probably say Ash or Poppy, but my favourite is Esen because she was such an interesting character to write. Unlike Ash, Esen actually likes being a grim reaper because she feels more accepted – and needed – in death than she ever did in life. Yeah, she’s hard work, but she’s seen so many reapers come and go over the years that it takes a long time for her to let you in but, when she does, that’s it. You’re in and she will never leave your side for anything.
What’s your favourite scene in the book, and why?
I love Ash and Poppy’s first kiss under the bridge, but my favourite scene is towards the end. I can’t say too much about it because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it, but Ash makes a list of all the things she’s learned which is actually a list of all the things I’ve learned, so I often go back and read it if I’m ever feeling unmoored.
What does being on this year’s YA Book Prize shortlist mean to you?
I’ve never made the shortlist so given that I celebrated the tenth anniversary of my debut novel, Heart-Shaped Bruise, being published this year, it’s a huge honour. Also, as someone who doesn’t want to pull the ladder up behind me and is determined to make publishing more open to everyone, it makes my heart so happy to be included among such a diverse group of brave, beautiful books. It finally feels like that change we keep being promised is actually coming.
What’s the best thing about writing for young adults?
For me, it’s the intensity with which young adults feel everything. They can have their best and worst day on the same day. They have such open minds – and hearts. They love fearlessly and experience loss with a depth that feels like they may never see the bottom and it’s such a joy to write.
What was your favourite book as a teenager?
Forever by Judy Blume, if for no other reason than I will be forever scarred by Sister Alice discovering my friends and I sniggering over it in the corner of the library and becoming flush faced and flustered as she confiscated it.
What is your top writing tip?
Be honest. Teenagers know when you’re lying to them and they deserve better than that. They’re stronger – and more mature – than you think so they can take whatever it is that you’re too scared to tell them as long as you do it with some empathy.
What songs would be on a playlist for your book?
"I Will Follow You into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie is Poppy’s favourite song, which Ash listens to on repeat after their first date. They dance to "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra. Esen gets yelled at for playing "Lullaby" by The Cure and "Creep" by Radiohead at a party. There’s loads more, but if there’s one song that sums up the book for me it’s "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hear that song again without thinking about Ash and Poppy.
Which book, film or TV show would you recommend to someone who enjoyed your book?
The most obvious is probably They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera but given more people have read that than Afterlove, I’ll say We Are Okay by Nina LaCour. If you liked the sapphic yearning in Afterlove, definitely check that out.
Read the first chapter of Afterlove here
