The Prettiest tells the story of the fallout at Ford Middle School after an anonymous social media user posts a list of the “Top 50 Prettiest Girls” in the eighth grade. Do you have a follow up in mind, a sequel, or another story entirely?Īlthough I’ve had a couple of requests from kids for a sequel, I think Tillie’s story is done for now! I’m currently working on another middle grade book, The Prettiest, due for publication in the winter of 2020. Tillie is a terrific character, so she is a lovely tribute to your wise friend.

All of these elements combined gave me my protagonist, who I named Tillie, and that character led me through her story. From there, a mystery story grew, and because I myself was dealing with intense and life-altering chronic pain at the time of writing the book, particularly in my leg, I wanted to create a heroine with chronic pain. I saw a young girl with a camera, searching for lost objects, for lost people, and eventually for the lost parts of herself. That image sparked a character in my mind. She said she’d always wanted to read a book about a girl who finds lost things. Thank you! As I embarked upon my second attempt at a middle grade novel (the first will rightfully never see the light of day), I asked my wise friend, Tillie, what she’d want to read about. And congratulations on your debut novel, which I greatly enjoyed. Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions–I really appreciate it. She was kind enough to answer some questions, and here’s what she had to say: And I wasn’t alone in that assessment: Horn Book’s review called it “a suspenseful mystery/detective story deepens into a nuanced coming-of-age story…” Curious to know more about a friend of a friend, I asked if I could interview her. I read it right away, and thought it was really well done. I picked up Brigit Young’s debut novel, Worth a Thousand Words, because we have a friend in common, and our mutual friend sent me a copy as a gift.

The Prettiest by Brigit Young