The Deathless Girls

APPLE BOOKS REVIEW

From the author: “I was approached for a new series of women writers taking on classics through marginalised characters and through a feminist lens. I wrote back and said, ‘This sounds so amazing, but I can’t even let myself think about it’ because I just didn’t have time. I woke up in the middle of the night and realised I’d made a terrible mistake. I’d already thought about my idea and knew that I was going to have to do it. I pitched ‘The Brides of Dracula: Origin Story’. I am such a great believer in fantasy and the power of fantasy. It was honestly the most fun I’ve had writing a book, because I had never written a YA novel before. But when I started writing it, it was all quite sort of ploddy and tame. And then I read a book called Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan. And it opens with this devastating scene where this girl watches everyone she’s ever loved be slaughtered then gets taken off into this dynastic world where she’s an object and a concubine. It was so dark and brave and beautiful. I literally ripped up what I was writing and was like, ‘Let’s do this properly. Let’s commit and possibly fail and possibly write something that’s too dark.’ A few people asked me why Kizzy—who is the more vivacious twin—wasn’t the main character. But we know Kizzy—we’ve read books from Kizzy’s point of view. I’m more interested in Lil, who is her quieter, more timid twin. What does it mean to know that you’re not as brave, that you’re not as bold, as impulsive? And is there a strength in that? I absolutely believe that there is strength in being kind.”