Last year as I was introduced to Twitter, I found an author who was releasing a series of books about a junior high girl who wanted to fit in with everyone. As I looked into the series, I added it to my To-Be-Read list. It was the kind of reading I’d eagerly give to any 10-14 year old. Today, I have the privilege of hosting a guest post by that very author, Krysten Lindsay Hager. Her book series? True Colors available on Amazon , iTunes and Barnes & Noble.

How My Teen Years Inspired My Own Teen Series by Krysten Lindsay Hager

I grew up reading different teen series books about close-knit friends like in the Babysitters Club series, Sweet Valley High, etc. and I always wanted to be in that sort of group and have those friends who always had your back. So when I was in middle school, I created a story with a crew like that. Fast forward to college and a professor mentioned a quote about writing the book you want to read, and I thought back to that middle school idea. However, this time I decided to give the main character a realistic approach and have her feel like everyone around her has this, but soon she realizes no one has the perfect friends or the perfect life—no matter what books, magazines, and social media sites try to tell you with their happy, perky pictures.

My main character Landry Albright is a very loyal friend, maybe even too loyal at times. She doesn’t have the highest self-esteem, and she often backs down from arguing or standing up for herself for the sake of keeping the peace. She tries to keep other people from getting their feelings (or egos) hurt, and sometimes she hides her “light” a little bit because of that. She’s a definite “over-thinker” something she *may* have inherited from me. In the beginning, she only hangs around with her two best friends; and after they shut her out, she is forced to branch out and make new friends. She has to come out of her shell to try and meet people, and she often finds herself hiding her accomplishments to keep her friends from getting jealous. Landry assumes everyone else has it better than she does with their perfect lives and friendships. She begins to learn that isn’t the case and that everyone has their own insecurities and worries. There’s a part of the story where she tells Devon how she’s always wanted dark, curly hair like hers and felt that was the ideal, and Devon responds she always wanted hair like Landry’s. We always think the grass is greener on the other side, don’t we? As time goes on, she begins to learn what true friendship is and be a better friend herself.

The Landry’s True Colors Series deals with the friend drama, jealousy, insecurities that we’ve all dealt with as tweens/teens (and as adults, too!), but in a funny way through Landry’s eyes. We go through her dealing with frenemies, worrying about fitting in, and those modeling auditions that make her stress out (and hopefully make the reader laugh and cringe with her!). I hope people can enjoy the humor and feel a little less alone, realizing that everyone goes through periods of insecurity. I also hope the message that we each have something unique that makes us special comes through. I try to show that instead of trying to fit in, we should appreciate our differences.