Debut author David Fenne joins Laura Jayne Dodd in the Forbidden Planet TV green room to discuss the creation of his wonderful new YA novel OVEREMOTIONAL! Overemotional is a refreshingly entertaining and enjoyable read by debut author David Fenne and I loved it.

Overemotional by David Fenne - The School Reading List

Being terrified of your emotions is such a relatable concept to many closeted young people, so I wanted to explore a more fantastical version of that. The story started at pace and didn't stop and took me on a roller-coaster ride of emotions as revelations and discoverers were made and the danger increased.Another fave was rookie Agent Wren, whose enthusiasm leads to more than one awkward (but highly entertaining) conversation with her supervisor—trust me, it’s pretty much impossible not to find her antics a little amusing. Every character is so lovable in their own way, I love Troy so much and he is literally the definition of a teenager with a crush, so cringey and awkward is so real. Writing comedy is notoriously difficult, but the voices were full of humour, was it difficult to balance jokes with tension?

David Fenne ~ OVEREMOTIONAL out July 2023 on Twitter David Fenne ~ OVEREMOTIONAL out July 2023 on Twitter

I found it didn't dawdle too much and got straight to the point without compromising character interactions or setting descriptions. I found many of those characters pretty incompetent, especially ones that are part of the DEMA organization. The problem is his best friend Freya won’t let him disappear, she along with her boyfriend and their American friend Troy track him down and demand he come home. Pitched to prospective punters as Heartstopper meets Stranger Things, Overemotional follows Stephen, a closeted teenage boy who’s dealing with several major issues in his life – he’s hiding his sexuality, he’s dealing with turbulent emotion-based powers, and he’s just kissed his first boy, resulting in the boy’s head literally detonating due to the aforementioned powers running in reverse (e. The author is British and it definitely comes across while you are reading which is fun to me as an American reader who doesn't read many British books.As this approach would have offered us a deeper and more intimate understanding of his character, allowing us to witness events unfold through his eyes.

Overemotional (Audio Download): David Fenne, David Fenne, Ink Overemotional (Audio Download): David Fenne, David Fenne, Ink

The narrative, told from multiple first-person perspective (stevens, Freya, Marcus, Troy and report logs) spans 40 chapters and 336 pages. and ” Lauren James, author of The Quiet at the End of the World OVEREMOTIONAL: the wholesome, queer YA adventure of the year! So just, fair warning to all those out there interested in this book- deffo check out other reviews for context. From the revelation at the start through unexpected twists and turns to the climatic ending - I was hooked all the way through! I love that this is a queer teen fiction novel, where the characters sexuality is not the main story line and there is no neon beacon over his head, forcing him to come out.Fenne commented: “We all want to pursue happiness, but what if that happiness is dangerous to others? Steven, being scared of his emotions and superpowers that are causing drama because of said emotions, headed to the god-forgotten town, that suddenly everyone knows how to get to, as his best friend follows him, her boyfriend and friend are following her, and some semi-professional agents in suits are following all of them to the middle-of-nowhere-by-the-sea town. To avoid hurting anyone else, Steven runs away from school to hide in the miserable town of Grunsby-on-Sea.

Overemotional by David Fenne | Goodreads

I have to thank my peerless agent, Lina, who’s been a passionate believer in this book from the start. This is also a multi-POV story, so we do get to explore a lot of characters (including a few supporting characters) and their inner most thoughts in depth which really helped me in understanding their motivations. It has everything I want from a gay YA story: interesting characters, mystery, humour, a romance I'm rooting for. Imbued with a sassy, sharp and vivacious personality and a drive to get to the bottom of things and full of heart, she's the kind of friend you want in your team, especially when the chips are down. The publisher describes Overemotional as an “addictive, page-turning novel brimming with lovable characters, touching on themes of love, acceptance and belonging, where the everyday ordinary turns into a magical new reality”.I was immediately swept up in the story's momentum, eagerly turning page after page to uncover what lies ahead.