Malinda Lo

As many of you know, I’m a member of the 2009 Debutantes. Well, our debut year may be over, but our books keep coming! So this year I’m happy to be hosting a number of Debs on the occasion of their second and even third books. All year long, we’ll be talking about first sentences in novels — which ones work and why, and the reasons these authors chose to start their book at the place they did.

Kicking us off is author Shani Petroff, whose second novel, Bedeviled: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Dress was published last month.

What’s one of your favorite first sentences from one of your favorite books?
SP: One of them is definitely the first line from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger:

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

Why do you think that first sentence works so well?
SP: It really gives a sense of the main character—the voice is present from the first sentence—and it made me want to keep reading to find out more about him.

Why did you choose to start your book with this first sentence:

I unintentionally declared my undying love for him. IN WRITING. AND. HE. SAW. IT.

SP: I thought a lot about how to start this book. It’s the second in the series, and I wanted to jump right into the action. I actually ended up splitting the first sentence into several smaller sentences, to show how much impact the situation has on my character’s life.

About The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Dress

Angel Garrett knows two things for sure. The first is that she inherited her devil-dad’s powers. The second is that she wreaks havoc whenever she tries to use them. Especially when she’s trying to impress her crush, Cole. Angel’s only solution is to stay as far away as possible from him until she learns how to harness this new gift. But how do you avoid someone and get him to ask you to the school dance at the same time?

About Shani Petroff

Shani Petroff is a writer living in New York City. In addition to tween and teen books, Shani writes for news programs and several other venues. When she’s not locked in her apartment typing away, she spends a whole lot of time on books, boys, TV, daydreaming, and shopping online. She has no devil lineage as far as she knows.