Because it may seem like a small role now, but it matters. In the end, everything matters.

Why does it say she has three hundred and twenty friends?" Josh asks. "Who has that many friends?

Every reader is different. There's no book that's inappropriate for every person, but there are people who cannot handle everything.

People grow apart, and sometimes, there nothing anyone can do about it.

I left. When I should have stayed.

I felt I had a very innocent childhood and I feel privileged by that. But as an adult, I know that there were people who didn't have that. There are a lot of teens who haven't had as easy a childhood as me, and having literature that explores these "darker" parts helps relieve the burden and stress they may be feeling. As a writer, there is often a temptation to draw back when we write for teens - to preserve their innocence. But the reality is, if someone has already had that innocence taken in their life, then not writing about it is just brushing it under the rug.

Josh turns to me. “I can’t believe she’s writing these things.” “Not she,” I say. “Me.” “Why would anyone say this stuff about themselves on the Internet? It’s crazy!” “Exactly,” I say. “I’m going to be mentally ill in fifteen years, and that’s why my husband doesn’t want to be around me.