Becky Albertalli

“As a reader and as a viewer, usually when I watch a movie, I'm caught up enough in the movie that I'm not breaking it down to the details anyway.”

“From a plot perspective, what I finally found for my touchstone was that I consider 'Upside' to be a loose telling of Jane Austen's 'Emma,' or 'Clueless.'”

“It's so easy as a teen to feel like everybody is having this normal experience - except you. You're on the outside.”

“I am a psychologist. That's my training.”

“I don't know. There's just something kind of mortifying to me about the intensity of those feelings. I remember them so clearly.”

“I actually don't know much about Jaclyn Moriarty's process or where her stories come from or who inspired her characters. I just know that reading her books feels like sitting with friends. Her characters feel alive.”

“I like the idea of a broader range of people feeling seen.”

“'Simon' was always a word-of-mouth book. When it came out in 2015, I don't know that anybody thought that 'Simon' could be mainstream. Publisher Harper Collins loved it in-house, but it wasn't a lead title. Nobody is more surprised than me that it's a film. It's the little book that could.”

“I guess I feel it's funny to be looked to for advice on writing when I am still taking in so much from other people.”

“I've been fat since fourth grade and bullied for it, but I still knew I couldn't represent every kids' experience.”

“I think we're all a little bit caught up in the drama inside our own heads.”

“You have this idea that Hollywood is all about making money and is very impersonal. But 'Love, Simon' is such a passion project for director Greg Berlanti.”

“Wow, is that Katniss making out with Yoda?”

“From: bluegreen118@gmail.com To: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.comDate: Jan 7 at 7:23 AMSubject: Re: Really?On the Tumblr-you mean creeksecrets? .....But I really don't think I'm wrong. Jacques a dit. Right?-BlueSo, Yeah, I've been careless. I guess I left a trail of clues. and I shouldn't be surprised that Blue put them together. Maybe I kind of wanted him to.Jacques a dit is "Simon Says" in French, by the way, And it's obviously not as clever as I thought it was.”

“What I need, as a reader, is a character with a heart and a voice and a pulse. I need a character so vivid and so specific that she doesn't feel like fiction.”

“It's more that I want to leap in and say certain things and do certain things, but I always seem to hold myself back. I think a big part of me is afraid.”

“My book, 'Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda,' is a gay love story. It's also a story about friendship. Quite honestly, it's also probably a 320-page product placement for Oreos.”

“But I'm tired of coming out. All I ever do is come out. I try not to change,but I keep changing, in all these tiny ways ..... And every freaking time, I have to reintroduce myself to the universe all over again.”

“Greg Berlanti is in charge of a lot of superhero shows on television. He is a literal superhero. He is absolutely brilliant.”

“There is no universal gay experience. All stories are relevant, and all stories are needed.”