From feud to fervor From feud to fervor From feud to fervor

Whether it’s "Survivor 50," "The Bachelorette" or "America’s Next Top Model," reality shows have been in the headlines lately, for better or for worse. But even when we watch these shows, or the shows behind the show, we don’t always get to see the inner worlds of the people on them—where they come from, what motivates them, the relationships they build and all of the moments in between that are often flattened by reality show editing.

But in a book, there’s more space to understand what’s happening behind the scenes, especially because you can get into the heads of the characters and see everything that happens after the director yells “cut.”

Readers who pre-ordered copies of “Seeyon and Dean, Unscripted” received a keychain, button, bookmark and postcard.

That’s exactly the topic of “Seyoon and Dean, Unscripted,” the second novel by romance and thriller author Sujin Witherspoon, ’22. Released April 7, the book follows the titular characters as they compete to avenge or live up to their family’s legacy on the latest season of “Forest Feud,” a wilderness game show. This time around, six contestants are related to someone who won, and six are related to someone who lost. Turns out romance boosts ratings, especially when they’re star-crossed lovers doomed by the fact that only one person can win. Along the way, Seyoon and Dean learn to rely on each other through an alliance and explore what they want for themselves outside the expectations of others.

I sat down with Witherspoon to talk about how she draws inspiration from reality television shows, how Seyoon and Dean discover what they want outside of their parents’ expectations, and why humor bodes well when it comes to romance.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

How did the concept of this book come to be?

I came up with the premise for this book during a time when I was rewatching the cartoon “Total Drama Island,” which is a spoof of “Survivor” that I grew up with. I wanted to write something that felt like watching a good season of reality TV while also drawing on themes from my debut novel “Bingsu for Two” like found family and identity exploration through a multimedia coming of age rom-com with a cast of eclectic characters.

One of the themes in this book is the idea of legacy and what it means to live up to your parents’ expectations. How do Seyoon and Dean explore this topic?

Seyoon and Dean are both dealing with familial expectations, and they approach them in two different ways. Seyoon really admires and respects her mom, and she wants to prove that her mom is the woman she knows she is, even if reality TV doesn’t reflect that. It’s often an inescapable route that teenagers go on, especially children of immigrants. When your parents have sacrificed so much to get you here, you feel like you have to go so much further so all their work isn’t for nothing.

Security is also a big reason that Seyoon goes on the show in the first place because she wants to take care of her mom the way her mom has taken care of her. Seyoon is putting those expectations on herself, which Dean feels in other ways. Dean initially doesn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps and go on reality TV. He reluctantly goes on “Forest Feud” because it’s the one thing tethering them together.

Throughout the book, Seyoon and Dean learn they can rely on each other. What can this book teach us about asking for help when you need it, and that being a good friend and teammate is even more important than winning?

For Seyoon, it’s hard enough to ask for help, and it’s heightened with the stakes of a million-dollar prize. In the first challenge, Seyoon and Dean are still rivals, yet she still helps him because she believes winning is meaningless unless you’ve been an honest player. Seyoon asking to be in an alliance with Dean emphasizes the value of sportsmanship, which is why it ends up being worthwhile and meaningful for both of them.

Helping others is an act of love, but so is asking for it. It can be scary to make yourself vulnerable in that way, but it’s how we can connect on a deeper level.

Why did you decide on the format of a reality show, and the behind-the-scenes process of how it gets made, and how does it lend itself to showing multiple perspectives?

I wanted it to feel like you’re watching reality television, which is challenging because it’s a visual medium that doesn’t naturally translate to the page. I found it important to look at the ugly behind-the-scenes of how TV is made, and often parallels the media today in terms of what we’re fed as viewers versus what’s actually behind the surface. The dissonance between what the characters say versus what they feel is interesting to explore through my writing, and it’s a way to look beyond the lens and between the lines.

You explore Korean culture through the lens of Seyoon and her mom, and we also see elements of Washington through the setting of Mt. Rainier National Park. Why was it important to you to represent Korean culture and the Pacific Northwest on the page?

When I’m trying to craft realistic characters, I’ll imbue some of my lived reality as someone who’s Korean American in the Pacific Northwest. I try not to represent the whole Korean diaspora experience, but just my part of it. What Seyoon goes through are things I have felt, and I resonate with how she sees the world because of her upbringing and how she’s perceived by others.

The cultural aspects of Seyoon are dearly important to me, like her relationship with her mom and the pressure she puts on herself because of the family she grew up in. I wanted to portray a mother-daughter dynamic where the mother is unconditionally supportive. Seyoon thinks she has to fix the legacy that the media has pushed onto her mom, but her mom reminds her that there’s no legacy to uphold, it’s just her name and her story. That may go against the stereotypical expectations of what Asian parents want for their children, and it was important for me to subvert that.

Sometimes, your parents just want you to be happy, and you’re putting pressure on yourself because you don’t want to let them down. We have high expectations of ourselves, and that can make it hard to step back and think about what’s right for you.

It’s interesting that your parents not putting pressure on you could be subversive. In a way, romance books offer wish fulfillment, and this book explores the question, “What would it be like if the only thing my parents wanted me to be was happy?” Then, you might feel freer to figure out what you want to be instead of what you’re supposed to be.

Wish fulfillment feels like the right phrase for it. As someone writing young adult books, it’s wish fulfillment for who I was at that age, and for kids now. I know I needed this, and I hope it resonates with readers and reminds them to figure out what they want and what they’re chasing after. More broadly, Seyoon and Dean are both chasing after winning “Forest Feud,” and what they want changes throughout their book. Knowing what you want is such a privilege, especially when you’re a teenager and there are so many things to choose from.

What was your process for creating Dean as a character, and how does Dean evolve over the course of the book? 

I see Seyoon and Dean as foils and proof that opposites attract. In other circumstances, they may not be each other’s gravitational fields, but they make sense together in the context of this show. They each have something that the other person deeply admires, and it helps them grow individually and in their relationship.

Your books are as funny as they are romantic. How do you bring humor into your book while still having moments of sincerity?

I think humor lends itself well to falling in love and staying in love. And if you’re not laughing, you’re crying. In this book, having moments of humor helps uplift the tone and provide contrast to the moments that are intentionally sincere. Some things aren’t funny, so having the humor in other scenes helps uplift both the romantic and serious sides of the story.

Besides, you fall in love faster when you’re laughing. That’s why I love romantic comedies.

How do you want people to feel when they read your book?

What’s different from my first book is that this is a very quiet, soft love story. There was a review that described Seyoon and Dean as “sweetly awkward,” and that’s exactly how I wanted it to feel. Amid this cutthroat environment of reality television, they treat each other with a lot of softness and gentleness. I hope readers root for Seyoon and Dean and find the story both fun and funny.

Grab a copy of “Seyoon and Dean, Unscripted” and follow Sujin Witherspoon on Instagram for updates about events and “Scream, Queen!,” her forthcoming rom-com thriller.

About the author: Aleenah Ansari (she/her) is equal parts storyteller, creative problem solver, and journalist at heart who’s rooted in the stories of people behind products, companies, and initiatives. She writes about travel, entrepreneurship, mental health and wellness, and representation in media for Insider, The Seattle Times, Byrdie, and more. You can usually find her searching for murals, reading a book by a BIPOC author, or planning her next trip to New York. You can learn more at her website.