To celebrate The Falling Girls’ release, I am excited to share an interview with the author Hayley Krischer!
Interview with Hayley Krischer
In one to two sentences, tell readers what The Falling Girls is about?
Best friends Shade and Jadis reach a breaking point when Shade joins the cheerleading squad and falls in with a group of girls, The Three Chloes. When one of the cheerleaders dies at the Homecoming dance, Shade can’t help but think it might be her best friend.
What was the inspiration behind The Falling Girls?
All girls and women go through friendship break ups and it tears them apart. I wanted to explore those dark feelings as well as delve into what it feels like when you meet a new friend and how intoxicating that is.
Do you have any writing quirks or superstitions when it comes to writing?
I got this idea from Alexander Chee: I make a tarot card spread for my characters as I’m writing.
When it comes to authors, who inspires you?
Megan Abbott, Courtney Summers, Laurie Moore, Alice Munro, and Flannery O’Connor.
Favorite childhood book?
The Outsiders
Favorite all-time book you will read again and again?
Howard’s End by E.M. Forester
What is the take-away message you want readers to know about The Falling Girls?
It’s OK to want to break away from your friend to be true to yourself. You shouldn’t feel bad about being who you are and staying true to yourself. A true friend will still be there for you.
About The Falling Girls
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Bookshop
From the author of the unforgettable Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf comes an intoxicating thriller about the dark paths female friendships can take, set against the backdrop of a high school cheerleading squad. Perfect for fans of Megan Abbott and Kathleen Glasgow.
Shade and Jadis are everything to each other. They share clothes, toothbrushes, and even matching stick-and-poke tattoos. So when Shade unexpectedly joins the cheerleading team, Jadis can hardly recognize who her best friend is becoming.
Shade loves the idea of falling into a group of girls; she loves the discipline it takes to push her body to the limits alongside these athletes . Most of all, Shade finds herself drawn to The Three Chloes—the insufferable trio that rules the squad—including the enigmatic cheer captain whose dark side is as compelling as it is alarming.
Jadis won’t give Shade up so easily, though, and the pull between her old best friend and her new teammates takes a toll on Shade as she tries to forge her own path. So when one of the cheerleaders dies under mysterious circumstances, Shade is determined to get to the bottom of her death. Because she knows Jadis—and if her friend is responsible, doesn’t that mean she is, too?
In this compelling, nuanced exploration of the layered, intoxicating relationships between teen girls, and all the darkness and light that exists between them, novelist Hayley Krischer weaves a story of loss and betrayal, and the deep reverberations felt at a friendship’s breaking point.
About Hayley Krischer
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Hayley Krischer has been an award-winning journalist for over 20+ years.
She is a contributing writer for the New York Times, where she has covered feminist roller skaters, Instagram obsessed moms, profiled Gabrielle Union, Tatum O’Neal, and S.E. Hinton.
She has also written for many publications about women and teenage girls including Marie Claire, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Lenny Letter, and the Hairpin.
Her YA debut, SOMETHING HAPPENED TO ALI GREENLEAF will be released in fall 2020 from Razorbill.