By The Book Reviews

By The Book Reviews recently had the opportunity to interview Aimee Friedman about her books, South Beach, French Kiss, and Hollywood Hills. Here is what she had to say!

What insipired you to write South Beach?

The story of how I came to write SOUTH BEACH makes me almost believe in fate. In 2004, I was working as an associate editor at Scholastic (where I still work, now as a senior editor, and which is where I still publish most of my books). My boss was encouraging me to try my hand at writing teen fiction, which I hadn’t ever done before. I was curious to try it, but I was busy with work, and writing more literary fiction on the side. In the meantime, an editor at the company wanted us to publish a teen novel that was set in South Beach, Miami. When the original author she’d lined up for the project fell through, I had just returned from a fabulous trip to, yes, South Beach, with my older sister. We’d had so much fun lying on the beach sipping lattes and going out dancing in Little Havana, and the trip left me feeling very inspired. All the stars somehow aligned, and I was asked to write the novel. I loved inventing the characters of Alexa and Holly and a lot of their adventures in the story grew out of the adventures I’d had with my sister on the trip.

Did you intend it to be part of a series?

Not exactly. The story just sort of poured out of me, fully formed. But by the time the book was done, I’d come to care about Alexa and Holly so much that I wasn’t ready to let them go! Also, the book began to do very well in stores, and even became a New York Times bestseller, so there was a lot of clamor for sequels. That was when I came up with the ideas for FRENCH KISS and HOLLYWOOD HILLS. I adore traveling, and I liked the idea of following Alexa and Holly on these trips to see how their friendship (and respective romances) changed.

Are there any plans for a fourth book in the series or have readers seen the last of Holly and Alexa?

My editor and I did intend for HOLLYWOOD HILLS to be a finale of sorts, with the girls heading off to college. However, I still love Alexa and Holly, and still have ideas for more adventures for the two of them. Though I am working on new projects right now, I wouldn’t rule out a fourth book in the future!

Which of the girls do you relate to the most?

I relate to both of them a great deal on different levels. Like Holly, I can be a little bit shy, a little bit cautious–especially when I was her age, I tended to get that way around boys. Like Holly, I am close to my family and they mean the world to me. But, unlike Holly, I am not good at sports (though I always wished I was). I am probably more like Alexa in that way–I can be a bit princess-y when it comes to physical activity and the outdoors! Also like Alexa, I love fashion, drama, and travel (even though, like, Holly, I don’t like flying), and Paris is probably my favorite city in the world. So I am sort of a mix, a blend, of the two girls. Each of them have qualities that I wished I possess, and other qualities that I relate to very much. Which makes writing about them so fun and so rewarding.

Are you currently working on anything new?

My first-ever hardcover novel, THE YEAR MY SISTER GOT LUCKY, is in bookstores now! And it’s gotten some very nice reviews; Booklist called it a “funny, insightful, delightful journey” and PW called it a “happy confection.” It’s the story of two sisters who are best friends and real New York City girls. But all that changes when they are uprooted and move to a small rural town in upstate New York. First crushes, new friends, and hikes up mountains suddenly are in the picture…and will the sisters be torn apart? Read this book to find out! I’ve also JUST started writing another new novel, slated for next summer, about a love story set on an island off the coast of Georgia. I’m really excited about, and hope readers will be, too!

When did you realize that you wanted to pursue writing as a career?

I’d written all my life–ever since I was little. It was simply what I loved doing best. I think I wrote my first story at age five or six, and my first novel at age ten, and just kept going! I think as soon as I realized writing COULD be a career, it was something I wanted to do. It seemed incredible to me that one could be paid for doing something they found such joy in. Of course, now I see writing for the hard work it is, but it is still an amazing job to have, incredibly challenging but also deeply engaging and full of surprises and rewards.

What was the last book you read?

I’m now devouring the PRIVATE series by Kate Brian. It’s wonderful! Totally suspenseful and fast-paced and gripping. I usually mix up my YA reading with adult books, but I’ve been on a teen streak for a while! I also read an early galley of Meg Cabot’s newest YA book AIRHEAD, which is coming out this summer, and is just breathtaking!