Brighton-based Sara Barnard, author of books for teens (and former teens), is the author of several Young Adult (YA) novels, including Fragile Like Us; A Quiet Kind of Thunder; Goodbye, Perfect (which won the YA Book Prize 2019); and Destination Anywhere. Her latest YA novel, Something Certain, Maybe, is out now (Macmillan, £7.99) 

The book I loved as a child 

Roald Dahl’s Matilda was the staple of my childhood. I think a lot of young readers felt a connection with the most famous young reader of them all.   

The book that inspired me as a teenager 

Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty. It was the first book I read for teenagers that allowed the focus to be solely on friendship without the need to include a love interest. It was also funny, wise and warm – everything I want my own books to be. 

The book I’ve never finished 

Despite several enthusiastic recommendations, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts wasn’t for me. 

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The book that moved me most 

Julie Buntin’s Marlena. I was profoundly moved by it in a way I haven’t been by a book for a very long time. 

The book I’m reading now 

Fix the System, Not the Women by Laura Bates. Her work is as enraging as it is fiercely inspiring, and this book is no exception.