One of the things I had to decide when I started writing young adult was why I was writing it. What would you like your young audience to come away with in their thinking about art, particularly as it relates to social justice? But a lot of my really close friends are visual artists, and my sister is a visual artist, so it’s always been part of my life. I’ve been writing since I was five, so it made more sense to pick that. I started with video art at first and I created a couple of paintings about a decade ago but I paused my art career to write books because I couldn’t do both at the same time. The power of art plays a significant role in the plot and message of Bitter. I wanted to tell how this happened before, and Bitter would be at the center of that because she’s the one who makes the painting. The scene where Jam’s worried about her parents discovering what happened-she’s expecting them to be angry and they are angry, but not for the reason she thinks they’re going to be-signals that this has happened before. Although the book centers around Pet and Jam, Bitter’s the one who calls Pet through by creating the painting in the first place. I don’t think you ever really know what a story is until you actually write it, but I knew from the beginning that I was going to go back and follow Bitter’s story. How did you know that Bitter had a larger story waiting to be told?

You wrote Bitter as a prequel to your book, Pet. This timely and riveting novel-a companion to the National Book Award finalist Pet -explores the power of youth, protest, and art. And if she does find a way to help the revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: at what cost? Pulled between old friendships, her artistic passion, and a new romance, Bitter isn’t sure where she belongs-in the studio or in the streets. but her friends aren’t willing to settle for a world that’s so far away from what they deserve. But outside this haven, the streets are filled with protests against the deep injustices that grip the city of Lucille.īitter’s instinct is to stay safe within the walls of Eucalyptus. Today we’re pleased to welcome Akwaeke Emezi to the WNDB blog to discuss YA novel Bitter, out now!Īfter a childhood in foster care, Bitter is thrilled to have been chosen to attend Eucalyptus, a special school where she can focus on her painting surrounded by other creative teens.

Akwaeke emezi bitter