Julie Abe is the author of the middle grade fantasy adventure series Eva Evergreen and the speculative YA road-trip romance The Charmed List. Her new YA novel, Our Cursed Love, is a gentle love story set against the backdrop of wintry Japan. When Japanese American high school seniors Cam Yasuda and Remy Kobata—who are secretly in love with each other—arrive in Japan, their plan is to tour Tokyo Magical University and enjoy everything that the “magically aware” side of the country has to offer. But after they impulsively imbibe an illegal soulmate-finding potion, Cam loses all his memories of Remy, leaving her with less than a week to undo his affliction before it becomes permanent. Abe spoke with PW about how writing Our Cursed Love helped her feel closer to her family, the differences and similarities between her YA and middle grade works, and her love of all things magical.
What led you to set Our Cursed Love in Japan?
I was born in Japan, but I grew up mostly in the U.S., kind of like Remy and Cam. But I would always go back to Japan to visit family—at least until the pandemic restricted travel. I really, really miss Japan; I miss my family and walking around Tokyo. I lived in Japan for a little bit during college and I would go on these night walks during the winter. It’d be freezing cold and there would be snow falling; it was just a magical moment. When I was writing Our Cursed Love, I thought about Tokyo and all its lights and how it illuminated the snow and just channeled the wintry vibes. I missed it so much, so I wrote it into a story that made me feel like I was there, even for a little bit.
How did you balance all of the narrative elements and why was it important for you to utilize them?
The elements of present and past and of writing Remy and Cam at their different ages was a lot to balance. But also, when creating their timeline, I felt as if a lot of it fell almost naturally into place because their childhood together had a certain impact on their life and how it was now, and without their past, I wouldn’t have been able to craft an accurate version of their present or their future. Believe me, there were a lot of spreadsheets and doodling in notebooks and trying to put the pieces together. But I felt that there was no other way to tell their story than with the dual POV and the different timelines. And, of course, a love potion going wrong. It took some planning, but it all came together in a way that I’m proud of.
What is your primary motivator in setting your stories in magically aware societies and why did you decide to write another love story, as opposed to a magical YA adventure?
When I was writing The Charmed List, Remy and Cam [who were background characters] jumped out to me as people who belonged in their own romance. I always loved romances and when I started thinking about Remy and Cam and how they could go on to have their own lives and their own love story, I saw the potential with that. And, thankfully, my publisher was onboard. It was so exciting to be able to explore their love story as sort of a very loose continuation to The Charmed List that worked as a standalone. As I was planning Our Cursed Love and reading through my synopsis, I could immediately visualize certain parts of the story so well; the ending and the epilogue felt so real and I wanted to write this book so badly.
I love magic, and I love the feeling of a book being an escape. One of the things that is always such a joy about creating little bits of magic in our everyday world is that spark of imagination, of like, “What if there’s magic everywhere?” And that phrase, you know, about a book being an escape, I wanted to make it real. I also wanted to make it fun for readers to have that feeling of possibility—or even a romance—being just around the corner. Though Our Cursed Love and the next book in my middle grade series Tessa Miyata Is No Hero are totally different journeys, I think this sensibility is something that both my middle grade and YA novels have in common. I just like to have fun.
What are some key differences for you between writing for YA audiences vs. middle grade readers?
The differences between YA and middle grade for me are very nuanced. I would say that regardless of the age range, there are so many things that they have in common. The biggest difference, for me, though, would be the way I approach the maturity level of the characters or the way in which I explore a specific theme. In Our Cursed Love, I explored feelings of love and loss, and of the characters having endless possibilities and potential, in a much more sophisticated way than I have in my middle grade books. Still, I would never assume that an action-adventure middle grade wouldn’t have as much heart or as many feelings as a YA romance.
Our Cursed Love by Julie Abe. Wednesday, $21 Dec. 12 ISBN 978-1-250-85132-1
