Goodreads asked Ellie Lieberman:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Ellie Lieberman Society's Foundlings came about because I got really angry. I was not in the best place. It was frustrating to be in that place and have so many people telling me or people my age that my age was the best time of my life. That it was the high point and "you think you've got it bad now, just wait." This did not give me something to look forward to. It made the idea of "it will get better" seem like a lie. Essentially, it was kicking me when I was already down.

I also have always struggled with terms and sayings like "the real world," as though the things I had to overcome and the experiences I had weren't real because I didn’t meet an age requirement. The issues I went through and other people go through are real, and tough, and can be just as challenging at the age of sixteen or twenty as the challenges and experiences someone older might face.

I think a lot of people have a perception of young adults in general as being petty, overdramatic, superficial, or whatnot. And there are those who might be, but I don't think it is exclusive to that one age group.

That’s where I was when Society’s Foundlings began and that was a huge influence on a lot of the characters and the storylines. However, for as much as there were biographical elements, the story itself is not. It was inspired and influenced by many things outside of myself. An example of this is the musical Blood Brothers. The character Mickey says “when no one was looking, I grew up.” That quote in and of itself became a huge part of the book, though it’s never mentioned in Society’s Foundlings. The scene that quote came from also inspired the scene between Sampson and Nicole Brennerman. The whole book is filled with references. Elements were drawn from experiences and stories I’ve overheard from friends, acquaintances, and family.

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