Amazon Editors' YA Book Club discussion

Author Jandy Nelson is the best inaugural book club author ever and she's agreed to answer some reader questions posted in this topic discussion or sent by email (yabookclub@amazon.com). Submit your questions for her by May 30 and we'll post answers to the selected questions on June 15.

i wanna ask her how she got the idea of writing a novel? and what all came to her mind whie doing so? how did she come up with the idea? and any tips for newcomers?

OK. I'd like to ask what makes YA fiction stand out from adult fiction besides the age of the protagonist?

jandy, where is your passion coming from? it is obvious your writing is extremely deep into the thoughts of the characters. I just was wondering where this immense passion is coming from? love you so so much and your novel is by far my favorite. looking forward to many more.

I feel like both Noah and Jude were a little on the sidetrack of life, and by that I mean they weren't necessarily the ordinary kids that you see on a day to day basis. They were anomalies if you will. My question to you is, do you think we all have a bit of this craziness in us? Do you think we all are in the sidetracks of life a little bit? Or do some stray further than others?

Thanks!

I'd like to ask Jandy if there are traits or elements of certain characters that she sees in herself?

Dear Jandy,

I am curious to know why you chose to have art be a major form through which you communicate the story that unravels between Noah and Jude. Why did you chose to connect these characters so deeply to art? Do you consider yourself an artist? Or do you just have a special appreciation for most art as an outside observer?

Where did you come up with Noah's character? He's my all time favorite.

I absolutely loved the characters in this book. The way that you have them develop from younger years to the present, and in each point of view is just incredible. Plus, as a fraternal twin, I felt very connected with them as people. So Jandy, my question would be how you came up with these characters. They are so unique, though well thought out and developed, and I am just in love with them. So how did you create such fantastic, unique, fictional characters?

Many authors create good, legit characters that readers can relate and cling to. Noah and Jude, on the other hand, are so unique. They really feel like real people with real and different quirks. How did you come up with the little things that make them so real? i.e. Jude's obsession with The Bible, the fact that her grandma calls God Clark Gable, Oscar's lean? My favorite is the way Noah thinks through paintings, it makes me feel as though he is real. who did you come up with these little details and how did you know which to keep and which to scrap?

I just want to know one thing: Why did Brian, after coming out to the whoke world, not bother about Noah and not try to talk to him at all?I'll Give You the SunJandy Nelson

Will I ever get a noah and brian reunion scene???

I recently read I'll Give You The Sun, and after the first chapter, I would say I was thoroughly hooked. I loved how this book was such a roller-coaster. I always had something different to say about Noah and Jude once their chapter ended. What I would like to ask you is that before writing this book, did you think it would go in all the different directions it went but then came together in the end? What were your original hopes from this book- Did you want to focus on one particular theme in the beginning? And lastly, while writing, did you feel frustrated over the fact that you couldn't have a PoV for Noah when he was older or for Jude when she was younger?