Em asked Charlie Jane Anders:

I think TCITMOTN is an incredible novel to use in a high school classroom because it lends itself to so many branches of discussion. It could be used to discuss cultural truth making (The Gelet), dystopian/utopian societal features, environmentalism, ethics, identity etc. etc. Did you always intend this novel to be YA? Or after the fact did you just realize, hey this should be YA literature?

Charlie Jane Anders Hi! I don't really think of CiMoN as YA, to be honest. Sophie has a lot in common with a YA heroine, but Mouth is a bit older, like early 20s. And if this book was YA, I think it would have started with Sophie getting arrested by the cops on page 2 --- which is something I actually tried to do in some of my drafts. I would LOVE to see this book taught in high school or college, I know that's happened a few times. But my next book, coming spring 2021, is straight-up YA and it's much faster paced and has a much stronger YA sensibility, and I think you'll see the difference if you check it out.

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