one more time, we're gonna celebrate

"one more time" by daft punk & an interview with julie tieu

I’m going to start off by saying that a lot has happened since the last time we saw each other. I’ve been at Love Y’all Fest in Decatur, I battled it out on Duolingo to take number one in a weekly contest that does not matter and yet is the sole basis for my self-worth, and now I’m writing this to you from Savannah, where I’ve been visiting SCAD to talk about writing stuff.

But I have to press pause on talking about any of that because!!! My friend Julie Tieu’s book is out this week and I am so excited. I love this book (and Julie) so much I asked if I could interview her in this newsletter, and she graciously agreed.

The Girl Most Likely To by Julie Tieu is a romance between Rachel and Danny, who went to high school together and alllllllmost had a thing back then. At least they started to have a thing. That was 2003, when they talked via AOL Instant Messenger (AS IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW I WOULD PERK RIGHT UP), and Rachel was the overachieving girl gunning for the top award at school and Danny was the struggling “slacker” (putting this in quotes because your boy Danny had a lot going on!!! school is hard, sometimes you gotta slack) that Rachel would tutor.

Back then, it seemed like their differences were too much to overcome. But now it’s their twentieth high school reunion, and if anything their roles are reversed — Danny’s built a successful career for himself, while Rachel just got “funemployed” (how she’s trying to sell being laid off to herself). Can they figure their shit out — both separately and together — in one epic high school reunion night to give love another shot?

This week’s song is “One More Time” by Daft Punk because it’s the kind of nostalgic throwback that Julie namechecks in this novel, which was FULL of those kind of delightful references. I asked Julie about her own high school experiences and writing this book and a whole lot of other stuff, so let’s just jump into it.

One of the SCAD buildings I spent time in today is a converted high school so I took the opportunity to snap a high school-ish themed picture

AT: Danny and Rachel first communicated via AOL Instant Messenger in high school in 2003, which is SUCH a vibe (and one I know quite well). What was AOL IM Julie like? What was your screen name, what cryptic lyrics did you post for away messages, how were you mostly using the internet in those days?

JT: I can’t tell you my screen name because I still use it! I can tell you that AIM Julie was super cringe. At the time, it was a way to try on a new personality behind a screen name. So, I liked going into AOL chat rooms to talk to people but once I saw someone I knew in real life join the chat, I’d leave so fast. I didn't want anyone at school to see the online version of me. But eventually, I stopped going into chat rooms and just used AIM to chat with my friends. I did spend so much time on my away messages. I can't remember specific lyrics, but I know my away messages had Yellowcard and Jimmy Eat World lyrics.

I also, sadly, cannot reveal my AIM screen name, although I would tell you privately. And if I told you *my* screen name together with the screen name of my crush at the time, you would absolutely die. It’s too goth to handle.

But LOOK at high school Julie, we would’ve been friends for sure:

Everything about this photo is worthy of study. The necklace, the desktop computer(s!), the CD case, the Dr. Pepper, it all paints such a picture of the time.

You talk about those early aughts fashion trends that are now, sadly, coming back just in time for Rachel’s 20-year HS reunion. What was an early '00s trend that you’re embarrassed to say you participated in at the time, and what’s one you still think looks good today or wish would come back?

I’m the wrong person for this question. I wasn’t trendy at all. I spent most of my money at Hot Topic. I tried really hard to make skater shoes work for me, but they’re too big! I did eventually wear low rise jeans and I thought they looked good at the time. They wouldn’t be flattering on me now. I would like an updated version of “going out tops” because I want to wear jeans but still look nice when I go out.

Oooh going out tops! And I think we were all victimized by low rise jeans at some point lol.

Rachel LOVES Keanu Reeves. Like, LOVES him. In a way I deeply respect because what’s not to love about Keanu Reeves! Who would’ve gotten you the most star struck back in your high school years? What about now?

I would've been so starstruck if I ever saw Leonardo DiCaprio or Matt Damon. They covered my binder for quite some time before I started listening to Linkin Park. Then my binder was covered by Mike Shinoda, who I did meet after a concert and he was very nice.

One of the ways you and I first bonded was over Linkin Park, so the second part of that answer did not surprise me at all. And teenage me would’ve similarly DIED to meet Leonardo DiCaprio.

As the title suggests, your book deals a lot with those superlatives we aim for in high school (“Most Likely to Succeed,” etc.) and then how that can carry through into our adult lives when it becomes much harder to measure success. What superlative did you get in high school, or which one were you gunning for? How do you identify with Rachel, the overachiever, versus Danny, the “slacker?”

I was an overachiever, but not like Rachel. My schedule wasn’t that packed, I wasn’t that ambitious, and I would’ve happily spent time with my crush after school. I knew I wouldn’t earn any superlatives though. I wasn’t popular enough to get any votes. I was hoping to get nominated as a top student in a subject, even though I wasn’t the best at any subject. I knew I was a long shot for that too. I wasn’t the smartest person in my class by any means.

I got to be both Danny and Rachel, in that I started out kind of a slacker and then got my shit together in time to pull my GPA up my last two years. Still not enough for Honors Society, etc. so not a total Rachel since “Most Likely to Succeed” was outside of my reach. Instead I was elected “Class Clown” lol.

Me pretending to smoke a Barbie arm (??) in classes to the point where I’d even bring an ash tray (????) and set it on my desk — more Class Weirdo than Class Clown behavior but it gives you the vibe.

Have you ever gone back to your high school, or to a high school reunion? What was it like?

I went back to my high school once over ten years ago for Career Day. It was really nice to be back on campus, but it changed a lot since I went to school there. The students looked so young and it made me wonder if I looked that young too because I thought I was so grown up by the time I was 16. I didn't go to my reunion because the person who was supposed to plan it (me) didn't plan it. To be fair, my ten year reunion was at the height of Facebook and I already knew what everyone was up to.

Ha YOU were supposed to plan it!!!! You were like, “fuck it, that’s what Facebook is for.” My ten year reunion was at the same time and yeah, I didn’t go for pretty much the same reason.

In the sections of your book from 2003, you captured so well what a teenage crush/first romance feels like. One line really stuck out to me, where you described how he would wait for a glimpse of her face when she was passing papers back. That's EXACTLY the kind of thing that you’re pinning your entire day on at that age, I swear. What’s an early crush you particularly remember, and how did it manifest?

My very first crush as a freshman was a boy who was a junior. He was terribly quiet, which teen me interpreted as “mysterious” lol. I tried messaging him on AIM and he was just as quiet on AIM. This crush lasted a whole semester. Fast forward to the end of college, my best friend ran into this crush at a party and told me about this chance encounter. At that point, I was very single. Turned out he was also single. So I slid in to his MySpace DMs and reconnected and that’s how my husband and I started dating.

READER, YOU MARRIED HIM!!!!!!! That’s so cute. Love that it took both AIM and MySpace to get you together, what a love story for the ages.

And speaking of those dual timelines, this book is mostly set in the present day but includes sections that take us back to their AIM messages and relationship back in 2003. How did you tackle writing that? Like how did you make choices about what to show from the past, when to cut back to it, etc.?

At first, I imagined their flashback to only consist of AIM chat transcripts. When I began drafting, I realized quickly that getting snippets of chats didn’t provide enough context to their past. Then it made more sense to have a progression of their chats to see how their relationship developed over time. I really wanted to have a consistent structure and end each chapter with a short transcript, but then at some point, I just had to write longer flashback scenes to convey the right tone and flesh out their story. It took a few passes to make sure it pieced together well.

I loved it! And I loved how the 2003 sections really did capture those awkward, heady, big feelings around a teenage crush.

I’m also always in awe of anyone who can stretch time in a book the way you do here — *most* of the present day storyline takes place in one night, at their high school reunion. What challenges did that present for you when writing, and how did you handle pacing out a book when the timeline is so compressed?

I didn’t worry more about pacing than I would for any other book. Even though the timeline is compressed, I didn't want the reading experience to feel that way. The story still needs breathing room to unfold and I wanted to make sure the reader felt like they spent enough time with the characters, even if it’s one night. The biggest challenge is nailing the logistics. The reunion starts at 6. When they get delayed, I also had to calculate the amount of driving time between locations so that it made sense.

There is so much more LOGISTICS to think about in writing than I was prepared for, I stg.

At one point, Rachel says something about how she's old enough to be able to think of her life in eras. It’s their 20th high school reunion, so Rachel and Danny are both 38. What kind of considerations went into writing more mature protagonists as opposed to some of your earlier books where the characters were in their 20s?

I liked that Rachel and Danny were more reflective than any of my previous characters. They know more about themselves. That was refreshing to write. At the same time, both of them have gone through tough times. Rachel was laid off. Whereas my younger protagonists were still building their lives, Rachel experienced a setback. It can be hard to bounce back from and that was a new area I was able to explore.

More reflective — exactly! I loved that about them.

Your dedication to this book is “this one’s for me,” which is almost always my favorite dedication to read and one that I may use myself for my next book to be honest lol. Why is this book particularly for you? What about the process of writing it or the themes you put into it made you write that dedication?

I hit a lot of writer’s blocks during the writing process. As you know, once our books are published, we’re exposed to other people’s opinions about our work. That includes our editor, our critique partners, and reviews. I worried a lot about how this book would be received. Eventually I just had to tell myself to write what I want. It was the only way I could’ve finished the book. If it’s good enough for me, then I’m happy (and if it’s good enough for my editor, even better!). So, this book is dedicated to me because I’m proud of it and I’m proud of myself for finishing it.

I love that. And you should be fucking proud of it — it’s a great book!

Another photo I had to take while I had the high school-adjacent chance.

The Girl Most Likely To by Julie Tieu is available wherever books are sold, and I highly encourage you to pick it up. And not to be like, That Guy about it because I KNOW authors can be broken records about this, believe me, I’m chillingly aware, but if you feel so moved I encourage you to pick it up THIS WEEK because these early sales really do help authors. I’m also going to be running a giveaway for this book and an ARC of Never Been Shipped over on my Instagram in the next couple days, so look out for that! (I just have to get home first, I can’t have my notifications popping off while I’m out of town, it will drive me insane. I don’t even let Duo notify me when someone is about to overtake my number one spot which is why I lose it at the last minute so much if I’m not vigilant lol.)

Currently reading . . . I haven’t been reading a ton because of all the aforementioned stuff, BUT I did finish my audiobook of Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham. The book did a great job of giving an overview of NASA up to 1986, profiling the astronauts and other people directly involved, and discussing the various investigations and ramifications afterward and how they still resonate today. I was very moved by hearing about Ron McNair’s mission to play the saxophone in space in particular — the way he did play it in an earlier mission, but the recording didn’t work so we have no record of it. Then he worked with a composer to have a piece specially made to play on his next mission before NASA basically nixed it and told him he couldn’t do it. He said he thought it was vitally important that we hear that transmission of music played from out of this world, and you know what? I think he was absolutely right for that. Not even for science, which is of course important, but also for art and beauty and expression, which are just as meaningful. That’s something I’ve been giving a lot of thought to recently — how much art does matter, even just for its own sake.

Ron McNair playing his sax in space.

watching . . . I also haven’t been watching a ton, but I did start Cunk on Earth and it is HILARIOUS. I love mockumentaries in general, and the way she plays it so straight while asking experts the most ridiculous questions is pure gold. One night when I was trying to sleep I couldn’t stop cracking up and when my husband was like “what are you over there giggling about” I tried to tell him about the whole part where she’s asking if humans had front legs and back legs and which ones they used to make tools and the expert is just like . . . they used their front legs, which we would just call their arms and hands. I don’t know, it was killing me.

listening to . . . Music-wise, I’ve been relistening to Alanis’ Jagged Little Pill while driving around Georgia, which feels extra fitting because there’s an Alanis reference on the second page of Julie’s book! Last week I was hanging with a friend and played the section of “Forgiven” where she sings my brothers, they never went blind for what they did/but I may as well have to talk about how much I loved her vocal approach to those lines and how it did something to me and then I just started to cry? I’m still very embarrassed by this. But I’m feeling Alanis lately, what can I say.