Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, GLBT, Realistic Fiction
Mattie shouldn’t be at the bonfire. She should be finding new maps for her collection, hanging out with Kris, and steering clear of almost everyone else, especially Jolene. After all, Mattie and Kris dropped off the social scene the summer after sophomore year for a reason.
But now Mattie is a senior, and she’s sick of missing things. So here she is.
And there’s Jolene: Beautiful. Captivating. Just like the stories she wove. Mattie would know; she used to star in them. She and Jolene were best friends. Mattie has the scar on her palm to prove it, and Jolene has everything else, including Hudson.
But when Mattie runs into Hudson and gets a glimpse of what could have been, she decides to take it all back: the boyfriend, the friends, the life she was supposed to live. Problem is, Mattie can’t figure out where Jolene ends and she begins.
Because there’s something Mattie hasn’t told anyone—she walked away from Jolene over a year ago, but she never really left.
Poignant and provocative, Marcy Beller Paul’s debut novel tells the story of an intoxicating—and toxic—relationship that blurs the boundary between reality and fantasy, love and loyalty, friendship and obsession.
Tell us a little bit about Underneath
Everything.
UNDERNEATH EVERYTHING is the story of two
girls bound by an obsessive friendship.
What was the last book you read and loved?
This is like choosing between children. I
love so many books! A debut I loved this year that came out a few weeks ago is
Kate Scelsa’s FANS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE LIFE. Multiple points of view, beautiful
language, diverse characters, unique story. A published author who blew me away
this year is Laura Ruby. I’m still not over BONE GAP. The setting! The writing!
The characters! The plot! BONE GAP is magical realism at its best.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
Take care of my kids! That’s my first job.
You can usually find me at school pick up or drop off, or driving to ballet/soccer/scouts/hockey.
I get my writing in whenever I can around their schedules.
Who was your favorite character to write
about in Underneath Everything?
Another impossible question! I love all of
my characters, of course, but Jolene was the most challenging, which made her
the most interesting to write. Stepping into a mind like hers was both scary
and fascinating.
What is your favorite place to write?
On my deck, on a beautiful fall day.
Are any of your characters inspired by real
people?
Yes. I had a toxic friendship when I was in
middle school and high school, which is why I felt like I needed to write this
book. In my first draft Jolene was actually a secondary character, but when I
reread the manuscript and reached a scene between Jolene and Mattie, I realized
it was their story I wanted to tell. Because in all the years since I escaped
my own toxic friendship, I’ve always wanted to know why: Why did she do what
she did? Why did I let her? This book is about a character trying to figure
that out. The specific things that Jolene and Mattie do in this book are not
things I experienced, and the conclusions Mattie comes to about what happened
are not mine, but that type of relationship is something I lived through.
If you weren’t writing, what would you be
doing?
More for my kids! I would have a clean
house and participate in bake sales and volunteer more. Instead I write books J If I had more free time I
would play tennis every day and take up horseback riding again.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on two different young adult
projects right now, both with female protagonists. They are not related to
UNDERNEATH EVERYTHING except in tone—both are dark and pretty intense.
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Marcy Beller Paul is a young adult author, former editor, and full-time mom who still has all the notes she passed in seventh grade (and knows how to fold them).
She graduated from Harvard University and lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children. Underneath Everything will be published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins, in Fall 2015. It is her first novel.
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