Meet Scarlett Epstein, BNF (Big Name Fan) in her online community of fanfiction writers, world-class nobody at Melville High. Her best (read: only) IRL friends are Avery, a painfully shy and annoyingly attractive bookworm, and Ruth, her pot-smoking, possibly insane seventy-three-year-old neighbor.

When Scarlett’s beloved TV show is canceled and her longtime crush, Gideon, is sucked out of her orbit and into the dark and distant world of Populars, Scarlett turns to the fanfic message boards for comfort. This time, though, her subjects aren’t the swoon-worthy stars of her fave series—they’re the real-life kids from her high school. Scarlett never considers what might happen if they were to find out what she truly thinks about them...until a dramatic series of events exposes a very different reality than Scarlett's stories, forever transforming her approach to relationships—both online and off.

YOU. WANT. THIS. BOOK.

Last month, I had the opportunity to read Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here by Anna Breslaw.

This month, I’m still laughing over some of the hilarious moments/lines from the book.

This book was an entertaining read told from the point of view of Scarlett, whom I immediately fell in love with. She’s snarky, unapologetic, and hilarious (I can’t stop using this word to describe this book, haha). One of my favorite lines:

My dad’s Jewish, and Dawn is half Puerto Rican, so I either have skin you’d call olive or skin you’d call “jaundiced yellow but with a great tan in the summer.”

All the LOLs!

If you’re looking for a quick and fun summer read with a dash of the feels, this book would be perfect for you! (Keep reading for a chance to win!)

Check out our interview with author Anna Breslaw below, then keep scrolling down to enter the giveaway for a chance to WIN a hardcover copy of SCARLET EPSTEIN HATES IT HERE!

Book/Writing Q’s:

Which do you find the hardest to write, the first or the last line of your novels? Why?

The first line. I tend to open books with the narrator rambling about nothing in particular—it’s how I find and settle into the character’s voice. Going back and trimming and actually choosing a first line that’s grabby and makes thematic sense is kind of hard for me.

Which comes first in your writing process, the title, or the content of you story? (Do you always know what your book’s title is going to be?)

The content! The title is so hard. I never know what it’ll be. I end up changing the title page a million times and then finally sending it to my agent as THIS BOOK THING AHHH or something really silly like that.

Let’s talk character names. How do you go about selecting names for characters in your book? Do the names you pick have any significance to you, or do you ever feel inspired by a name?

Quirky character names really bug me, actually. I feel like I’ve seen so many overly-offbeat character names. Maybe because it’s a name that the author always wanted? Usually I try to go the opposite way and use really normcore names. I like the idea of a girl named Jennifer saving the world. A boy named Kyle discovering he can talk to ghosts. Or whatever.

For this book, I knew the protagonist’s mom, Dawn, would have named her after a leading lady in one of her favorite girly movies. Other contenders were Holly and Bridget. I chose Scarlett because the girl in my book is kind of an asshole sometimes, just like her namesake.

How do you plot your books, do you write it down on paper/index cards/etc, or do you write on the fly? Do you ever find that your plot changes as you write, or does it stay pretty close to how you planned it?

I did outline this book, actually! It was easier to keep track of the fanfiction/real sections and make sure they aligned with each other correctly. I just use a word doc. The plot generally stays close to how I planned it.

What’s in your “Author Survival Kit”? (Pens, Caffeine, iPods, Prozac?)

A Nespresso latte maker. Jillian Michaels DVDs, to ensure that I get at least 20 minutes of physical activity in during a day of writing. The Note application on my iPhone, where I sometimes jot down funny lines or observations if I’m out and about. And a giant bottle of water.

Do you have a favorite place to write? Tell us about it!

I have a little desk in the living room of my (very small) apartment that faces a window, which is where I’m writing this right now!

If you could use 3 words to describe your books, what would they be?

Funny, sad, science-fiction-y. (Can we just pretend that last one is one word?)

Fun Facts:

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Poke from Mainland Poke Shop in Los Angeles.

What is something you never leave home without?

My phone.

What are the last 3 books you enjoyed reading?

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, Private Citizens by Tony Tulathimutte, and I just reread Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects.

What are 3 words you’d use to describe yourself?

Anxious, ambitious, imaginative.

Do you have a favorite hobby/pastime?

Other than reading and writing? Going thrift store shopping.

Do you have a hidden talent? If so, what is it?

Singing! I was in All-State Choir in high school.

This or That?

Sunrise or Sunset?

Sunrise.

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee, but only if it’s a latte.

Hot or Cold?

Hot.

PC or Mac?

Mac.

By Land, or by sea?

By land.

Half-empty or Half-full?

Half-empty.

Autumn or Spring?

Spring.

Summer or Winter?

Summer.

About Anna Breslaw

I’m a New York-based freelance writer and author who mostly writes funny things, or things about women, or both at once.

Previously, I was a staff writer at Cosmo and a sex & relationships editor at Cosmopolitan.com. I’ve also been a contributing writer for Jezebel and Glamour.com. My writing’s appeared in print outlets like The New York Times, New York Magazine, Paper, and Glamour; and web outlets like The Cut, GQ.com, NewYorker.com, The New Inquiry and elsewhere. Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here is my first book but I hope to write more.

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