Levithan and Niven team up for 'glorious' YA novel

Penguin Random House has signed Take Me With You When You Go, by YA authors and first-time collaborators David Levithan and Jennifer Niven.

Ben Horslen, fiction publisher at Penguin Random House Children’s UK, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Jocelyn Lange, director for international rights at Random House Children’s Books US. The book will be published simultaneously in the US and UK on 31st August 2021.

In Take Me with You When You Go, the authors take on the voices of a teenage brother and sister. The synopsis explains: “Ezra discovers that Bea has run away and he is trying to figure out why. All that Bea has left behind is an email address and many unanswered questions. David and Jennifer move back and forth between the siblings’ emails, offering intimate access to these teens’ experiences as they grapple with an abusive step-father, a neglectful mother, leaving home, and more. A story of hope, family and finding your home in the people that matter most, the novel is packed with thriller-worthy twists and budding romance.”

Levithan burst on to the YA scene with his 2003 debut, Boy Meets Boy (HarperCollins Children's Books), and has gone on to produce and champion books told from under-represented perspectives. Niven’s YA debut, All the Bright Places (Penguin), was a New York Times bestseller, has been translated into 41 languages throughout the world and was adapted as a Netflix original film in 2020.

The authors became friends after meeting each other at industry book events. However, it took a fan inquiry on Twitter, followed by casual outreach from Levithan to Niven, to ultimately bring them together.

Horslen said: “I adore both Jennifer and David's writing, and this is some of their best. Whether you’re an existing fan or coming afresh to their work, if you love glorious prose, adorable LGBTQ+ romance, or the slow reveal of the darkness behind a seemingly perfect façade of a show like 'Riverdale', this is the summer read you need.”