My Reading Life: All Our Tomorrows writer Amy DeBellis wants her 8th grade teacher to understand she knows how to spell

Amy DeBellis‘ writing has appeared inPithead Chapel, HAD, Fractured, Ghost Parachute, Monkeybicycle, Atticus Review, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, and elsewhere. Now, her debut novel All Our Tomorrows, is available via Clash. The debut novel is about three Gen Z women who navigate the bleak realities of late capitalist New York City—grappling with nihilism, climate anxiety, and isolation—as they search for meaning in a world they believe was doomed before they were born.

Debellis answered our recurring My Reading Life Q&A so readers could get to know her and the books that shaped her life better.

What was the first book you were obsessed with as a child?

The first book I can remember loving as a child was Man O’ War by Walter Farley. Farley famously wrote The Black Stallion series, and I was obsessed with horses as a child. So, of course, I devoured every single book he wrote. But Man O’ War was my favorite because it was about a real horse, who actually existed. 

Man O’ War was one of the greatest racehorses of all time—and many people, including myself, will say he was the best. He won 20 out of his 21 races, and in 1920, he won a race by an unbelievable 100 lengths. Everyone talks about how Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes race by 31 lengths, which is indeed astonishing, but 100 lengths is over three times that amount. It’s a quarter mile. Also, the official race chart notes that he was still restrained by his jockey at the end and never even hit his full stride! Man O’ War grew so notorious that his owner had to put armed guards around his stall … anyway, I was absolutely fascinated with this wonderful horse. (You can probably tell that I still am.) 

What book helped you through puberty?

Lots of horror (Stephen King!) and fantasy (Sarah Douglass’s Wayfarer Redemption series, Kate Forsyth’s Rhiannon’s Ride series). Reading itself was an escape for me. I went from a socially awkward child to an even more socially awkward preteen, and books like Stephen King’s Pet Sematary* really helped me navigate that discomfort. I mean, who cares about puberty-related issues when it could be much worse—for example, you could be visiting a cursed Native American burial ground that doubles as a resurrection center where the dead “come back wrong.” Oh, and every time you visit that burial ground, the Wendigo is stalking you as you creep through the woods. And did you know that with just one touch, the Wendigo can turn you into a cannibal?! Really puts worries about acne and changing bodies, etc, into perspective. 

*Funny story… when I was in eighth grade, for public speaking class, I did a speech / book report about Pet Sematary. Of course, I spelled it “Pet Sematary” in the written report, because, you know, that’s how it’s spelled. When I got my assessment back at the end of the semester, the teacher wrote something like, “Amy performed her reading from the book Pet Cemetery very well.” I don’t recall exactly what he said, but I distinctly remember that he spelled it Cemetery. Which means, of course, that he thought I legitimately didn’t know how to spell the word in the title. I was so embarrassed! For months after that, I wanted to accost him in the hallway and declare, “Actually, I do know how to spell that word! But King misspells it on purpose! See, here’s the book cover!” ….but I never had the courage. 

What book do you think all teenagers should be assigned in school?

1984. Also, Brave New World, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Hate U Give, and The Parable of the Sower. Basically, pretty much every book that anti-intellectual groups want to ban. I think those are the books we need now more than ever.  

If you were to teach a class on Damn Good Writing, what books would make the syllabus?

Beloved by Toni Morrison. It’s a classic for a reason, and it’s more than simply a narrative. Morrison’s writing is so good that she makes you experience the full weight of the book’s events, the full horror of its history. Every paragraph is a stunner. That last page—the last few sentences in particular—still wallop me in the chest every time. 

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden. It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel! The slow unraveling of the plot is so masterful. I was fascinated by the characters and their inner lives, their desires, their secrets. 

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. The contrast in these pages is impeccable: such gorgeous prose that describes such hideous actions. Nabokov himself said it’s not a love story. The problem is, he was such a skilled writer—so good at making you view things through the narrator’s twisted point of view—that even today, some readers find themselves believing Humbert Humbert’s version of events. 

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman. This book is over 600 pages long, but it didn’t feel like a slog at all. I didn’t want it to end! I love how he blends the best parts of fantasy (the worldbuilding, the magic and the intrigue, the fact that it’s such an escape) with the best parts of literary fiction (the beauty of the sentences, the lyricism of the writing). I also love his Magicians trilogy. Unlike many series, it doesn’t get worse as you go along. It might even get better.

What books helped guide you while writing your book?

At the time, I was re-reading my favorite book of all time, Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. She has such an incredible way with language, and I really feel like whatever I’m reading as I’m writing kind of leaks into my own writing. So I made the deliberate decision to re-read my absolute favorite book when I was working on my novel. 

What books are on your nightstand now?  

I just got Emily Austin’s We Could Be Rats, which I’m really excited to read after loving her other two novels! I’ve also got Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation, which I read in 2019 and didn’t love, but I just finished Borne by the same author and found it absolutely incredible, so I’m going to give Annihilation another try. Maybe my reading tastes have changed in the last five and a half years. I’m also looking forward to reading Emily J. Smith’s Nothing Serious — we share the same literary agent, and her book’s concept immediately hooked me! Last but not least, I’ve got the Impostors series by Scott Westerfeld. I read the Uglies series many years ago and loved it, and I want to revisit that world (Impostors takes place in the Uglies universe, several decades later).