Paige Toon on the inspiration behind Someone I Used to Know

Paige Toon grew up between England, Australia and America and has been writing books set in sun-drenched locations around the world since 2007. She has released thirteen novels and a three-part spin off series for young adults.

Today, Paige Toon is on the blog to tell us all about what inspired her latest novel, Someone I Used to Know. Read on …

Paige Toon

The idea for Someone I Used To Know came out of a desire to write about an inspirational foster family. In doing my research, I discovered that it’s often the case that teenagers are separated from their young siblings, with the former going into the care system and the latter being put up for adoption. Often these brothers and sisters are torn apart without even getting the chance to say a proper goodbye. I was so shocked and heartbroken to hear about this that I felt compelled to write a story that highlighted the issue.

I also found that it is especially difficult to find good foster homes for younger teenagers. Much easier to place are younger children who don’t carry quite as much emotional – let alone, hormonal – baggage, or older teenagers who are set to ‘age out’ of the care system before long. I decided to write about two incredible, inspirational foster parents whose focus is mostly on these overlooked teenagers.

I was also very intrigued by the idea of a character whose parents foster: what would it be like to live in a house full of troubled teenagers who come and go? How might someone cope with having to share their parents with other children who likely need their attention a whole lot more?

Leah is my main character and it is her parents who foster. George is fifteen when he comes to stay at Leah’s family’s alpaca farm in the North Yorkshire countryside. He’s been separated from his younger sister and is desperately trying to find his way back to her. Leah is drawn to him, and also finds herself growing close to another boy, Theo, who was born into a wealthy family, but has love and care issues of his own. The story unfolds across alternating chapters, covering the characters at the age of fifteen and thirty.

Although my novels are mostly about people in their twenties and thirties, I adore writing about young love. Getting into the headspace of a teenager experiencing love for the very first time is a really immersive experience for a writer. First love is a pure, potent emotion, full of angst and heartache, butterflies and jitters. It may be fleeting, but you never forget it. That’s certainly true in Leah’s case, for, although she has gone on to find a deeper, stronger, more permanent love with her husband in the later section, she can’t let go of the feelings she had for George when they were younger.

I live with my characters inside my head usually for at least a year before I come to write their stories, and in this case, it was even longer, so by the time I sat down at my computer and started typing, Leah, George and Theo felt very real to me. I get so caught up in the emotions that my characters are feeling – sometimes in an almost method acting kind of way – and this novel made me feel so much. Even after the fifth and final read-through, I found myself in floods of tears by the time I’d reached the end. I’d say this is my most emotional book to date. The joy inside it far outweighs any sadness, but I was so incredibly moved by the looked after children storyline. If anyone goes on to foster after being inspired by something I’ve written, it would honestly be my proudest achievement. Only time will tell if that happens.

—Someone I Used to Know by Paige Toon (Penguin Books Australia) is out now.

Someone I Used to Know

by Paige Toon

At fifteen, George is the foster brother Leah never asked for. As the angry, troubled boy struggles to come to terms with his circumstances, Leah finds herself getting drawn closer to him.

Theo’s wealthy family have mysteriously pulled him out of boarding school and he’s now enrolled at the local state school with Leah and George. When their worlds collide that summer, the three teenagers form a bond they believe will be unbreakable. But life doesn’t always go to plan...

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