Did you know that Sarah Everett was the president of her high school’s Japanese club? After obsessing over her latest novel, No One Here is Lonely, we just had to find out more about her.
Which of your characters is most like you?
Eden is definitely the most like me. She doesn’t like change, she is fiercely loyal and she is oftentimes on the outside of things. Being a writer, I’m usually the one eavesdropping on conversations and experiences and writing them down so I can put them in a book!
Recommend a book for Eden.
I’d recommend Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson or If You’re Out There by Katy Loutzenhiser (out in March 2019). Both are fantastic YA books about being ghosted by your best friend, and how you move on when one of the most important relationships in your life ends (or changes). Since Eden goes through a similar journey with her best friend, Lacey, I think she would appreciate both books.
No one Here is Lonely has a fantastic, all-too-possible concept. Where did the idea for this concept come from?
I feel like loneliness is one of the universal emotions every teenager (every person, really!) experiences. I was thinking about this and imagining a world in which no one was lonely (hence, the title J), and the idea of a near-future world in which people could contact an artificially intelligent being, someone who would be there 24/7 – just a phone call away – popped into my mind. Then I found myself wondering what might happen if this Companion was someone who had died, a loved one who never really went away, and the idea for Will and In Good Company was born.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading Sadie by Courtney Summers. It’s a gritty contemporary thriller about a missing girl on a journey for revenge. It’s an absolute page turner.
What books do you recommend after reading No one Here is Lonely?
For the futuristic elements, I would recommend Noggin by John Corey Whaley and More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera. Actually, I’d recommend anything by Adam Silvera – They Both Die At The End is another favorite. Other books I’d recommend: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, We Are Okay by Nina LaCour and Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert.
Add No One Here is Lonely on Goodreads here!