I like to allow young readers to keep writing in their heads after they've finished reading. Not to leave the ending too open, but enough so they can imagine: What does this mean? My young adult books usually end in a far more obscure way.

Some of us are taught to ask for help. Some of us don't feel comfortable asking for help. Some of us will get into trouble because we don't want to share things with adults - maybe because we're used to getting in trouble. I have two daughters, and they're very different from each other. One will tell me everything. The other barely tells me anything at all. Who do I worry about the most? I worry about the quiet one. But it's something I wish I had had when I was a child, that feeling of having someone I could ask for help.

I do write about thinkers. And that's what I love about reading. My favorite books, the ones that made me sit there for days, weeks, months, years, and pop back into my head - they make me think a lot.

I have people say that they love how I keep them off balance as to what is real or not real about pretty much everything I write. I think it's an accurate description of how I feel every day. I can't tell what's real and what's not anymore. I think that's what makes art.

I like to allow young readers to keep writing in their heads after they've finished reading. Not to leave the ending too open, but enough so they can imagine: What does this mean? My young adult books usually end in a far more obscure way.