Mimi Shulman's world is a fun place to visit: she has popular friends, a flair for style, and a dad with money who stays out of her way. She's funny and smart, the kind of person a tenth-grader would want as a friend.

"I find it exciting to think that I write books that people who are maybe going through a rough time can identify with and maybe they can leave their lives for a little while and go somewhere else," says Lauren Mechling who, with her long-time friend Laura Moser, co-wrote the story of Mimi's adventures. Mechling's writing has appeared in the National Post and The New York Times, while Moser, the author of a biography about Bette Davis, has written for Slate, Newsday and the Guardian.

In their first novel, The Rise and Fall of a 10th Grade Social Climber, Mimi earned her place among the in-crowd. Now, in All Q, No A: More Tales of a 10th-Grade Social Climber, she strikes out on her own to track a story for her school paper. From a swish cocktail party to a sketchy after-hours club, she explores the New York art scene where she discovers a scandalous truth that could ruin her school.

The main plot of All Q, No A focuses on Mimi. How has her character changed from the first book?

Moser: In the first novel, she was involved in the school paper in a creative way. She writes a column called “Texan in Gotham,” about how New York is weird. One of the things about the second book is she doesn’t expect working on the paper to be any real work. She doesn’t think it will be fun, but she doesn’t think it will be rigorous, either. In the second book, she becomes her own person. She’s more independent. The first book is all about getting in with the cool girls and fitting in and being popular.
Mechling: In the second one, she doesn’t turn her back on her friends, but she certainly puts them on pause while she solves her own mystery.

Mimi’s character struggles with the same things so many other people her age struggle with, such as her relationships with friends and family. Why have you chosen these themes?

Mechling: We wanted the story to reflect the real emotions of being alive as a teenager. I can’t think of anything being settled at that time. We really wanted to make it a story that would speak to our readers and touch on things they would relate to. No one has a perfect love life; things are often dangling in the air, and I think that’s what makes life more interesting.

There is humour in the way Baldwin, the school Mimi attends, is portrayed. Why did you set the story in a school with such unconventional teachers and classes?

Mechling: In reading lots of other young adult books, it seemed the stories were set in either regular American schools or these very tony schools. And I thought a perfect environment for social satire, which hadn’t been tapped yet, was the world of alternative schools. I went to an alternative school myself and they’re very humourous. As a teenager it may not have seemed too funny, because I was too wrapped up in being miserable all the time, but looking back, it was.

How do you stay current with what is going on with your readers?

Moser: I wouldn’t say we do that much research, but we joined MySpace about three months ago. After we joined, we suddenly had this whole group of on-line friends. I was surprised by all the expressions and ways of communicating I had never heard. You don’t need to know the specifics of the culture as long as you have a sense of what it’s like to be 15 or 16.

When you collaborate, one of you writes, sends it to the other via e-mail, then you edit the work and add to what she has written, and send it back. What are some of the challenges of this approach?

Mechling: I think it would be more of a challenge if we were more precious about what we each wrote. Every time I send Laura a day’s worth of work, it comes back very different from what I sent. We spend a lot of time at the computer changing what the first person has just done. Laura liberates me as a writer because I can take a crazy leap and know she’ll tell me if she thinks I’ve a made a bad decision.

Lauren Mechling and Laura Moser read from All Q, No A: More Tales of a 10th-Grade Social Climber in the ALOUD Tent on May 23 and 24 at 12:30 p.m. ALOUD: A Celebration for Young Readers takes place as part of the Milk International Children's Festival of the Arts from May 21–28 at Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West, 416-973-4000. A full schedule of events is at www.harbourfrontcentre.com

Read more about ALOUD and an interview with Ann Love and Jane Drake, authors of Trash Action: A Fresh Look at Garbage