Goodreads asked Anuradha D. Rajurkar:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Anuradha D. Rajurkar Ever since I was a teen, I longed for a story that explored the balancing of two or more cultures, the way many first-generation teens of the diaspora navigate, the nuances of cross-cultural relationships, and the role that race plays in our everyday experiences in America. Though there are so many amazing stories out now featuring teens of color, I've yearned for more contemporary stories that depict South Asian families, ones that felt honest and true to my own personal experiences. So I set out to write a raw, layered story about the way friendships and relationships shape our identities, along with the excitement and complications of forbidden first love. Rani, her charming but problematic boyfriend Oliver, Rani's hilarious best friend, Kate, and Rani's loving but strict Indian immigrant family roved my mind for years, their experiences slowly taking shape during the decade it took to draft and revise the story amid the juggle of life. One upside to taking loads of time to write a book is the way the story deepens alongside your expanding worldview and life experiences. I truly took advantage of those years of writing as I sussed out what it is exactly I hoped to “say” with this story, and I'm grateful that I can say that I'm truly happy with the result!

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