As a former middle school English and history teacher, An Na has plenty of fodder stored
up to use in her current career as a young adult novelist. Her latest book, The Fold - which
opens with a detailed account of zit-popping - centers on teenager Joyce Park who
considers eyelid surgery thinking it will make her more beautiful and help her catch the eye
of her crush.

What prompted you to write this story?
A few years ago, an editor for an anthology asked me to contribute a short story around the
topic of beauty. Immediately I thought about the time my younger sister was offered the
double eyelid fold surgery by my crazy aunt when we were teenagers. I wanted to treat the
subject matter in a way that didn't preach about what was right or wrong. I wanted people
to laugh with Joyce as she struggled to figure out what was and wasn't right for her.
How much of the book is culled from observing teens?
I am the biggest eavesdropper and spy. I remember once when I was at a high school giving
a presentation, I stepped into the ladies room and noticed this teenager putting on her eye
makeup. I was completely fascinated by her precision, her intensity and skill. I knew I had
to use that moment in my writing someday.
Do you yourself have "the fold"?
I do not, although sometimes when I'm tired my eyelids just flip back. Honestly, I don't
really think they make people look all that different.
What were your own favorite young adult books?
Unfortunately, I didn't find the books that I needed as a teen when I was a teen. I found
them later in college: Maxine Hong Kingston's Woman Warrior, Sandra Cisneros' A
House On Mango Street. The books that I gravitated toward as a young reader were all
about survival: Little House on the Prairie, Island of the Blue Dolphins, A Little Princess.
These were all girls who had to work hard and make it in the world. I think that was how I
was feeling. Since there weren't any books that talked about what it felt like to immigrate
and have parents who didn't speak the language, I read books that were about girls
surviving in the wilderness.
- Corina Knoll