LeUyen Pham with Shannon Hale Release The Book Friends Forever

Shannon is in eighth grade, and life is more complicated than ever. Everything keeps changing, her classmates are starting to date each other (but nobody wants to date her!), and no matter how hard she tries, Shannon can never seem to just be happy. As she works through her insecurities and undiagnosed depression, she worries about disappointing all the people who care about her. Is something wrong with her? Can she be the person everyone expects her to be? And who does she actually want to be? With their signature humor, warmth, and insight, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham have crafted another incredible love letter to their younger selves and to readers everywhere, a reminder to us all that we are enough.This is the 3rd graphic memoir you have worked on together- Shannon as writer and LeUyen as illustrator. How would you describe your working relationship?LeUyen, you have said that when it comes to writing books you and Shannon seem to share a brain, was the communication between you really that easy?Why did you want to tell your story with a graphic novel- how does that art form enhance your message and why do you think this genre is growing in popularity for young readers?Shannon, the two previous books in the series dealt with some pretty serious events from your childhood- bullying in Real Friends and anxiety in Best Friends. Not surprisingly, young readers connected with your story in a big way. Why did you want to address those issues?Shannon, Friends Forever continues on your journey of self-exploration and this memoir tackles another issue that impacts so many teens’ lives, depression and mental illness. Was that painful for you to delve into?Would your 8th grade life have been any different if you two had friends like each other?Depression is a big issue for teens today, did you encounter any pushback regarding the subject matter?What does friendship mean to each of you?