syllabus for their vicious games
paperback out on april 30! (ALSO I'M SHORTLISTED FOR B&N BOOK AWARDS??)
hello! class is in session. i have had this idea for some time now, but finally had the time to execute. i’m a big believer of the idea that nothing is created in a vacuum. every act of creation is a reaction to the circumstances of that which we live. “their vicious games” is an example of that, and so my work is informed by a lot of the things around me and what i consume.
here’s the syllabus to prepare yourself for when you read (or re-read) the paperback version of my debut novel, their vicious games, which comes out on april 30! and it’s okay, you can make up the work, so reading after you finish the hardcover is all good too.
REQUIRED VIEWING
Ready or Not (2019)—all roads lead back to ready or not. this film along with years of childhood trauma planted the seeds for their vicious games in the dirt of my brain. out of that grew my weird little book.
Do Revenge (2022)—i cannot help how much i love this movie. camp, stylish, and just mean, i think it perfectly captures the lengths teenage girls will go to satisfy their appetite for revenge, and completely encapsulates young rage.
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)—silly, fun, and horrifying. just as i hope you feel about my book.
The Bachelorette, Season 15—hannah brown, the ultimate bachelorette. her crown really never has been tipped (nearly was by rachel lindsay but not quite).
Unreal (2015-2018)—truly hard to describe this show about a producer of a reality tv show that isn’t the bachelor but…isn’t…not the bachelor. it’s very good and i watched it many years before my brain could even conceptualize their vicious games, but i revisited after it came out and it was seeded deeper into my mind that i had realized.
Squid Game (2021-?)—we love deadly children’s games here.
“toxic” femininity: what’s up with girlbloggers, female manipulators, and femcels?, Mina Le—does this really need to be explained to you?
REQUIRED READING
Ace of Spades, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé—this book. this book. talk about a third-act twist. that’s all i’ll say. this is a book that dives deep into race and class in a very different way from my book, but it’s a book that i adore. read it!
Kakegurui, Homura Kawamoto & Tōru Naomura—this manga is one of my favorites and absolutely inspired a little card game of war that happens in their vicious games.
Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure, Amy Kaufman—this book really informed the social dynamics that i implemented throughout their vicious games. it’s a ya thriller, but also it’s a reality tv show where everyone is being produced, but also…it’s a ya thriller.
LISTENING
as for what we’re listening to—the very playlist mentioned in the text itself and completely unchanged from when i myself created it with my best friend.
now that we’ve got that all out of the way, maybe consider pre-ordering the paperback of their vicious games because when you do and if you submit your receipt through this link, you’ll get a super amazing gift for doing so (while supplies last of course):
one of these DELIGHTFUL prints of the five main girls.
AND…a PIN (of which I have much less of so first 20 preorders of paperback get this!)
preorder wherever books are sold, but to make it easier, here’s my linktree. and once you do, fill out this form.
IN OTHER NEWS…
here’s a quick laundry list of everything coming up for me, that will also be in upcoming newsletters because i keep forgetting to share news and my publicist has the patience of a saint and i want to share the fruits of her labor:
barnes & noble has decided that my book is good enough to include on the ya book awards shortlist! this is an amazing honor and coming at just the right time, because my paperback is out next month, woo!
i’ll be doing an event for the blonde dies first in, you guessed it, in brooklyn. more details on that soon. while you wait, preorder from books are magic for a special treat.
there’ll be arc giveaways happening ASAP. two will be international with one being exclusively for the global south, so look out for those announcements on my twitter/IG.
anyway, i think that’s all my news for now. until next time, class dismissed.