'Queen of teen thrillers' author Sophie McKenzie on her new novel, Secret Sister

June 29th 2023

Sophie McKenzie | Author Sophie's first book, Girl, Missing, was published in 2006, and since then she has written numerous teen thrillers, including the adventure series The Medusa Project and the duology Split Second and Every Second Counts. She has won multiple awards for her teen thrillers, including as the Red House Children's Book Award's overall winner for Blood Ties in 2009. Sophie also writes standalone adult crime fiction. Before dedicating herself to writing books, she worked as a journalist. As well as being an author, Sophie works as a creative writing teacher and provides online tuition in writing. DISCOVER BOOKS BY SOPHIE MCKENZIE

In her latest edge-of-your-seat thriller, bestselling author and former journalist Sophie McKenzie explores what happens when two twin sisters discover the existence of one another. Aimed at 9+ readers, Secret Sister has similar themes to her popular debut novel, Girl, Missing, including family, mystery, hidden truths and identity (making it a fantastic book club read!). An advocate of YA fiction, Sophie reveals how she captures issues impacting teenagers today, plus suggests more teen thriller writers to add to your library. 

Why will teenagers want to pick your books from the shelf?

Secret Sister will appeal to anyone who likes a good story and characters that you really care about. Neither of the twin sisters at the heart of the book know that the other exists when the story begins. They’ve been brought up in very different worlds – but once they find out about each other, they’re determined to meet, even though there are people in their lives who will do anything to keep them apart. The journey to find each other is full of risk and danger, with lots of setbacks – but they keep going because they can’t imagine doing anything else.

From friendship and first love to not being understood by your parents, getting irritated with your younger brother and fantasising about belonging to another family, themes from Girl, Missing, are still relevant today. Lauren’s identity - her desire to know who she is, both in terms of the past she was born into and the young woman she is becoming - is at the heart of the narrative. We all go on a journey through adolescence, letting go of the child we once were, in order to become an adult.

There are definitely ways in which the challenges for young women have developed since I wrote Girl, Missing, including the influence of social media. I’ve tried to reflect this particular change in stories like SweetFreak [which touches upon teenage cyber bullying]. 

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How does writing fiction compare to your background in journalism?

In most ways, it’s completely different. For me, journalism is like a train journey from A to B, where you stop at stations to conduct interviews and research data. Fiction is more like a rollercoaster ride through a maze – often challenging and frustrating, but always fun. I tend to see the stories in terms of the main character(s) having a deep-seated need which the story will (hopefully) help them fulfil. If there’s a truth they are looking for, it’s usually something that will allow them to make better sense of their own lives. One thing I would never do is end a story for teenagers without a sense of hope. 

You’ve been titled the ‘original queen of teen thrillers’. Who do you think has potential to topple you from your throne?

There are loads of amazing teen thriller writers out there! Holly Jackson and Karen McManus are brilliant, as is Ravena Guron, author of This Book Kills.

Celebrating Young Adult fiction   In 2017, Sophie McKenzie attended the Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC), a weekend celebration bringing together YA authors, publishers and readers to take part in YA events, writing workshops, and book-themed activities. This year's YALC is on 11th-12th November, with author guests including Holly Bourne and Juno Dawson. Learn more about YALC on their website and share with Young Adult readers (students and colleagues alike!).

Unravel the secrets in Sophie McKenzie's latest release Secret Sister Asha has spent her life on an island community built on the principle of truth. But for Asha, this principle comes crashing down when she discovers she has been lied to about something huge: a secret sister, Willow. Willow always believed her twin sister died years ago. So when she receives a message in the middle of the night from a girl who claims to be Asha, her twin, she doesn't know what to think. Can the sisters piece together the truth of their pasts and find their way back to each other? DISCOVER

Sophie's picks to thrill your teen readers

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