Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Synopsis:
When curvaceous Annalise Bradley’s scandalous freshman year hookup sparks the anger of her female classmates, three of them decide to get her back by "catfishing" her, creating a fake online profile of the perfect boy to toy with her affections.
Against her better nature, introverted Noelle Spiers, goes along with her friends’ plan, hoping to distract Annalise from dreamy Cooper Franklin, her lifelong crush who has fallen for Annalise instead.
As Annalise discovers she is being played and seeks revenge, Noelle increasingly regrets her role in the cruel hoax and tries to salvage their relationship.
Told in alternative perspectives, IDENTITY CRISIS covers romance, betrayal, and timeless friendship in the age of modern technology.
Hello Melissa! We're super happy to have you in our FFBC Tours.
Thanks for having me on the Fantastic Flying Book Club blog tour!
Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about Identity Crisis?
What would you do if your new online romance turned out to be your worst enemy? That’s the story of IDENTITY CRISIS. It’s about Annalise, whose scandalous freshman year hookup sparks the anger of three of her female classmates who decide to get her back by "catfishing" her, creating a fake online profile of the perfect boy to toy with her affections. But the book is also told from the perspective of one of the perpetrators, Noelle, who starts connecting with Annalise and regretting her part in the scam.
If you had to pick 1 adjective to describe your main characters what would you choose?
Faking — because both girls aren’t being true to how they really feel. Noelle doesn’t have the strength to stand up to her friends, and Annalise has let the whole school believe something about her that’s not true.
How did you come up with the story? Did you find inspiration in any other story/movie/show and how has this affected your writing?
Yes! There had been some catfishing stories in the news, like Notre Dame football player Manti Te’o, and tragic ones like Megan Meier, and then of course, the MTV show Catfish. They made me wonder, how can someone let themselves get duped? But also, what motivates someone to do that?
What is your favorite quote from the book?
What Eva says to Noelle about why Annalise will fall for their scheme. “She’ll keep believing because she wants to believe.” It’s that so true? How often do we keep believing something, even though we know in our heart it’s not true, but we just wish it were so?
Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write?
My favorite scene is when the girls all end up at the Prudential Center for the concert ticket giveaway. All sorts of things go wrong for Annalise: her fake boyfriend stands her up, she doesn’t win tickets to the show, she collides with the band manager and makes him think she’s a stalker.
Was there anything you had to research or this book, that you would be worried if someone found in your browser history?
To make sure everything was logistically accurate, I called the Agganis Arena in Boston, the stadium where the final concert scene takes place, and asked the man in the ticket office a hundred random questions about the arena. I’m sure he started worrying I was up to no good, so I made sure to tell him it was just research for a novel I was writing.
What authors are auto-buys for you?
E. Lockhart, Sarah Darer Littman, Meg Wolitzer.
What you would you say is harder to write: The first sentence of a story or the last?
Once I really know the voice of the main character, the first sentences of my books generally pop into my head. The last is generally a little more tricky for me.
What do you find yourself fangirl-ing over?
I’m a total podcast junkie: Serial, This American Life, Slate’s Double X, Political Gabfest, Longform. I’m always looking for a new one to add.
What is your favorite snack/drink to eat when you read?
Cheek-Its
If you could pick one author dead or alive to have a drink with who would you choose and why?
Judy Blume, because her books covered every childhood touchstones, from puberty with Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret to first learning about S-E-X in Forever. I hear she now lives in Key West, so maybe we could sip something tropical, like Pina Coladas or mojitos.
What is next for you?
I started a new YA contemporary during NaNoWriMo that I’m really excited about, but for now, I’m keeping it under wraps. So stay tuned!
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Melissa Schorr is the YA author of GOY CRAZY (Hyperion 2006) and IDENTITY CRISIS (forthcoming, Merit Press 2016), and a contributor to the YA anthology DEAR BULLY.
She is currently a contributing writer/editor to the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. Her freelance work has appeared in numerous publications, including GQ, People, Self, San Francisco magazine, and The Wall Street Journal.
Melissa currently lives in Boston with her husband, her daughters, and her dog, Bailey.
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