The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club: FFBC: Welcome to the club, The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno

The Half Life of Molly Pierce
by Katrina Leno

Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: July 8th 2014

Synopsis:

You take it for granted. Waking up. Going to school, talking to your friends. Watching a show on television or reading a book or going out to lunch.

You take for granted going to sleep at night, getting up the next day, and remembering everything that happened to you before you closed your eyes.

You live and you remember.

Me, I live and I forget.

But now—now I am remembering.

For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she’s missed bits and pieces of her life. Now, she’s figuring out why. Now, she’s remembering her own secrets. And in doing so, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led…and the love that she can’t let go.

The Half Life of Molly Pierce is a suspenseful, evocative psychological mystery about uncovering the secrets of our pasts, facing the unknowns of our futures, and accepting our whole selves.

“A smart, seductive page turner, deeply felt and full of surprises.” (Madeleine George, author of The Difference Between You and Me)

“Unfolds its careful origami slowly and hypnotically, taking on one shape after another before finally revealing itself as something stranger and more beautiful than I’d anticipated. A moving, expertly wrought story that will keep surprising you past the last page.” (Bennet Madison, author of September Girls)

“A Tilt-A-Whirl of a first novel, a breathtaking thrill ride that takes you in one direction and then spins you off in another, over and over, keeping you guessing with every turn of the page.” (Michael Thomas Ford, author of Suicide Notes)

“With a distinct and mysterious voice that matches its mood, The Half Life of Molly Pierce will pull you into Molly’s—and Mabel’s—world.” (April Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Girl, Stolen)

I am a writer from the East Coast, currently living in Los Angeles.

My first book for young adults- The Half Life of Molly Pierce- will be published on July 8, 2014 by Harper Collins.

Impossible to pick just one! So here are a couple… THE LETTERS OF VINCENT VAN GOGH (they made the epigraph of my book!), THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA (CS LEWIS), COLLECTED STORIES (Gabriel García Márquez), THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH (Norton Juster). SO MANY MORE! But I’ll stop here.

Of all time: The X Files. Of past times: Mad About You. Of current time: Doctor Who. Disclaimer: I don’t like TV as much as most people seem to like TV right now.

Animated: Robin Hood (Disney, 1973). Romantic: When Harry Met Sally. Iconic: The Princess Bride. Holiday-ic: While You Were Sleeping.

Between the Bars, by Elliott Smith.

French fries.

Remus Lupin.

“Part of me is made of glass, and also, I love you.” Nicole Krauss, THE HISTORY OF LOVE.

Disney. Harry Potter. French fries.

Donald Barthelme. Because he seems like he’d have the most interesting things to say.

Never stop fangirl/boy-ing.

Hi Katrina! We are super excited to host you in our FFBC.

Yayyyy, happy to be here!

THLOMP (unfortunate acronym) is my first novel! Molly Pierce is a young woman experiencing memory lapses and blackouts. She loses time, wakes up in strange places… She hasn’t told anyone yet, because she’s very concerned that people will label her as “crazy.” I put a lot of myself into the character; she’s very much a version of myself, about twelve years ago.

Well I had to do a lot of research into Molly’s particular mental illness (no spoilers here!), and that was really interesting but also sad—because we don’t know a lot about it. Some doctors even debate its very existence because there aren’t a lot of documented cases. This was good, in a way, because it gave me a lot more freedom in my writing. I could kind of create my own version of the illness because I had so little firsthand accounts to guide me. AND each account I read was SO different, it gave me the creative license to be different, too.

So sad, but quietly hopeful.

I enjoyed writing the end of the book, to be honest, not only because it was a relief to finish it (!) but because it felt very cathartic, very full circle. It was the ending I wish I could give to anyone suffering from depression or mental illness. It’s an ending that doesn’t fully resolve things, because I don’t think depression and mental illness are ever fully resolved. But there can be a turning point, it can be very positive, and it can mean the difference between accepting a life of internal misery or making the decision to search for something brighter. Something brighter doesn’t always come right away… It’s all a journey. So the ending of the book is definitely the start of another journey.

Ohh!! Right now I am crushing SO hard on Chloë Grace Moretz. I think she’s a spectacular actress and would fangirl all over the place if she played Molly. She’s not even particularly what I had in mind when I wrote Molly (I rarely think of looks, to be honest. I think it’s the least interesting part of writing a character) but I think she would step into the role brilliantly. Or Ellen Page! She’s amazing. Either one of them! I think Logan Lerman would make a fantastic Lyle. Saoirse Ronan would make a perfect Erie. I don’t know about Sayer! He’s a bit of a mystery to me. Elle Fanning would be a fairly spot-on Hazel. This is fun!