Interview of Sasha Vey by Haylee Hackenberg
If there’s one thing you remember from your teen years, it’s that feeling of being acutely, hilariously, painfully yourself, whether you mean to or not. Amalia, the protagonist of The Set-Up Girl, is sharp, awkward, and endlessly loyal. She’s the kind of character who makes you laugh while also holding up a mirror to all the messiness of adolescence. In this debut YA novel, the casually queer, second-generation migrant perspective is neither tokenised nor sensationalised; it’s lived, messy, and delightfully authentic. I spoke to Sasha Vey about giving Amalia her voice, writing queer characters, and the books that shaped her own coming-of-age.
Congratulations on The Set-Up Girl! Both myself and my tween daughter really enjoyed it. I was incredibly impressed by the authentic voice. Amalia took me right back to my teens – the good and the bad. Can you tell us a little about Amalia’s character development?
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
With Amalia, I didn’t plan her personality out so much as I started writing her and then felt out what traits were coming through in the narrative voice that emerged. From early on, I knew she would be loyal, and that she’d have quite low self-esteem – the perfect cocktail for a protagonist who jumps at the chance to set her best friend up with her crush without saying a word about her own feelings! However, other facets of her personality emerged quite quickly as I had her interact with other characters and built out her life, such as her tendency towards a melodramatic narrative voice and the way her sense of humour comes out when she’s around people she trusts.
A lot of it was feeling out what was “right” for Amalia, and then, when editing, rereading what I’d already written to make sure my characterisation was consistent.
It’s wild to still be having this conversation, but did you worry at all about the reception of a ‘casually queer’ YA novel in the current climate?
I know exactly what you mean – and yes, I did! Before I even embarked on my publishing journey, I was having frank conversations with myself and others about the potential marketability of this book because of its specific exploration of queerness. Especially right now, it can feel a bit scary to have my name and face linked to a story that, somehow, is considered “inappropriate” by some audiences.
Ultimately, though, I wrote this for the people who will love it and see themselves in it. It’s for the young queer kids, for kids in the Eastern European diaspora, for kids who are navigating life as second-gen migrants or navigating romance for the first time or even just for the kids who get nervous in big crowds.
There are always going to be people who don’t want to see queer representation, casual or otherwise. I can never make that audience happy, and I don’t intend to!
What were the books that shaped you as a teen reader?
Oh man, too many to count! I grew up during the rise of dystopian YA, so The Hunger Games books were a huge obsession of mine in early high school. I also lucked onto Melina Marchetta’s work by chance in my midteens – I was sleeping over at a friend’s house and had time to kill as the first to wake up, so I ended up grabbing On the Jellicoe Road from her shelf. I loved it so much that I asked to borrow it, and ended up reading it cover-to-cover twice in a row; after that, I mowed through all of Marchetta’s contemporary YA books, which gave me a real taste for the genre. Like the main character of my own book, I also made my way through a number of classics in high school, some of which I loved – Jane Eyre became a frequent reread through my teens – and some of which I set aside as “glad I read it but never again” – Grapes of Wrath was one such book in that category.
And more recently, what are the standout YA books that teens today should be reading, apart from The Set-Up Girl?
Oh man, I love being asked for book recommendations, thanks for this question! I love the absolute diversity of genres YA encapsulates, so here’s a random assortment of favourites from over the last few years:
- Emily Jones is Not a Murderer by Amy Doak is a great piece of Australian crime/mystery fiction for slightly younger YA readers.
- Check and Mate by Ali Hazelwood is a compelling romance for slightly older YA readers that immersed me in the world of chess and also shines a light on the sexism female players face.
- Unnecessary Drama, Nina Kenwood’s sophomore YA novel and another piece of contemporary Australian fiction, beautifully explores the experience of teetering on the edge of adulthood as the main character experiences living out of home for the first time during her first year of uni.
- And finally, Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand is a piece of YA that treads into the space of queer, dark fantasy, and creates a world that’s evocative and scary, but also hopeful.
This is your debut novel. What’s next for you?
I’m someone who, when not furiously editing, tends to work between multiple manuscripts at once, so I’m not sure – but it’s in the works, I promise!
