An interview and podcast conversation summarizes Freeman’s move into YA verse fiction, the novel’s narrative choices, and what readers can expect from a story about a neglected teen who is offered an exchange-student lifeline.
The Secret to Belonging is a coming-of-age novel in verse about a neglected teen whose brother’s addiction consumes the family, and who receives a scholarship to study in remote Norway.
Freeman draws on her experience as a poet, teacher, and a former resident of northern Norway to shape setting, voice, and emotional detail.
Freeman wrote the novel in verse and in second person. She described second person as challenging, and she identifies verse as the medium she would choose if forced to write in one form only. The combination aims to create immediacy and intimacy: the reader experiences the protagonist's thoughts and small moments as if they are being addressed directly.
The novel centers on family, resilience, and what it means to belong — belonging to others and belonging to oneself. It addresses the ripple effects of addiction on siblings and parents, and it traces how an unexpected opportunity can open space for hope and self-discovery. Freeman frames the story around the protagonist's search for joy after despair and her work to imagine a future that matters to her.
Megan E. Freeman is a New York Times bestselling author whose prior verse novel ALONE won multiple state and regional awards and was included on many "best of" and reading lists. She is also a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet and the author of a poetry chapbook. Freeman has decades of classroom experience and leads workshops nationally. Her personal history includes living in northern Norway, which informed the book's setting.
Where this book might fit for readers
Readers attracted to verse novels, immersive voice-driven stories, and realistic YA that tackles family dysfunction and addiction will find this work relevant. The Norway setting offers a change of place that functions as both setting and emotional catalyst. The second-person address may appeal to readers who want a close, immediate connection to a protagonist's interior life.
The interview appears on The Growing Readers Podcast, hosted by Bianca Schulze, with production and editorial credits including Kelly Rink. In the conversation, Freeman discusses choosing verse, the workload of writing in second person, the influence of living in Norway, and specific craft questions such as voice and scene work. She also names Crystal D. Giles' Listen to the Girls as a recent book that moved her.
Practical takeaway for readers and librarians
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