Crissa-Jean Chappell’s Never Leave Me Alone is a fast-paced YA thriller set along Florida’s Space Coast, where social media fame, economic struggle, and high-risk stunts collide. The novel follows Birdie (Riley-Jane), an urbex Instagram daredevil drawn into a deadly online game after the mysterious death of a fellow influencer. With its blend of suspense, emotional depth, and timely themes, the book explores the real-world consequences of digital culture.

Greg Takoudes, author of SHOUT AT THE THUNDER, says, “A beautifully observed story about the undertow of grief and guilt in the life of an anonymous Instagram star, NEVER LEAVE ME ALONE is both ominous and glitteringly alive. Riley is the coolest of protagonists, a perfect guide to bring us through the perilous worlds of urbex adventures and social media fame.”

I couldn’t put down this emotionally layered thriller and appreciated the opportunity to discuss the compelling characters, fascinating setting, and resonant themes of Never Leave Me Alone with Crissa-Jean Chappell.

Leslie: Never Leave Me Alone merges high-stakes thriller action with social media culture, exploring the latter as both empowering and dangerous. What conversations would you like to spark with readers?

Crissa-Jean Chappell: It’s impossible to have a conversation about social media without considering our own convoluted relationship with the virtual world. The amount of time we spend staring at our phones. The dopamine jolt when someone comments on a picture of the omelet you ate for breakfast. The constant tug to check and check in case you missed something important. It feels so exhausting. Although it’s supposed to bring people together, so often it creates a barrier between us and the faces on the other side of that screen.

Birdie is both daring and vulnerable, with her fearlessness sometimes edging into recklessness. What inspired you to develop those layers to create such a compelling protagonist?

When I start working on a new book, it usually begins with the setting. I will travel to that specific location, walk around and take notes. A few years ago, I became enchanted with Titusville and I knew that I had to go there in person. “Spaceships everywhere,” I wrote in my little red notebook. The Space Coast felt like a place of big hopes and dreams, but so much of that stuff has faded into the past. I asked myself: who is the protagonist of this book? What are her dreams? Birdie truly believes that social media fame is her ticket to economic freedom. Of course, this is far from the truth.

The Space Coast feels like a character in its own right. You’ve mentioned watching a rocket launch on the beach years ago and I can only imagine what a memorable experience that was. How did this, and your upbringing in Florida, inform the world of the novel?

Well, I waited for the launch and it never happened! This memory became the opening scene in Never Leave Me Alone. All of my novels (so far) are set in Florida. For example, the Amish community in Sarasota. The Everglades. The places far from the palm trees and the neon. I’m often frustrated with the stereotypes that people tend to wrap around my hometown. I grew up in Miami near a nature preserve close to Biscayne Bay. I climbed oak trees and caught lizards and lightning bugs and listened for tree frogs at night. Sadly, Florida’s natural landscape is disappearing fast. I feel a sort of obligation to tell stories that reflect the real Florida. I try to tell these stories as honestly as possible.

You vividly capture the pressure teens face in a world where social media, constant connectivity, and other people’s opinions can make it difficult to escape conflict or discover who you really are. What observations have you made about today’s students that helped shape Birdie’s journey throughout the novel?

I’ve worked as a college professor for many years. Lately I’ve been noticing social media’s effect on my students (especially after the pandemic). They’re tired of screens, yet they’re bombarded by screens all day long. They’re fascinated with the ‘90s and when I ask why, they say, “Because it was a simpler time.” A time they never experienced. In other words, a time when we didn’t carry smartphones in our pockets. Back then, if there was drama going on at school….you could hopefully escape from it once you got home. Now the drama just goes on and on behind a screen. And it’s really difficult to turn it off.

The novel balances suspense with deeper themes like grief, economic hardship, and environmental issues such as algae blooms making the beaches unsafe. What drew you to explore these elements, along with Birdie’s desire to escape, within a YA thriller?

This question reminds me of a conversation with an author friend. They were talking about a book they liked but didn’t love. “It wasn’t about anything,” said. And I knew exactly what they meant. I want my stories to be entertaining, of course. But they should always be about the bigger (and I hope, timely) picture. In this case, the Space Coast setting is a complex place that drew me into discovering Birdie’s broken dreams.

What do you think draws teens to stories about risk and high-stakes challenges, and what do you hope they take away from Never Leave Me Alone?

I’ve been reading about so many of these stories in the news—whether it’s train-surfing here in NYC or a TikTok challenge that goes viral across the world. It’s not really about the stunt, is it? I think it’s more about a feeling of loneliness and disconnection. The universal longing to be accepted and liked.

Do you outline your story beats and endings before you write or do you figure them out as you go? In other words, are you a pantser or a plotter (or something in between)?

I’m a pantser for sure. I follow the voice of the character and they tell me where to go. That’s the fun part. If I tried to plot everything out in advance it wouldn’t be fun anymore.

I’m intrigued by the idea of urbex – discovering abandoned malls and buildings, or even airplanes in the woods like Birdie and Micah – is this something you do/have done, either as an adventure or for research?

Yes, I’m very passionate about urbex. If you check out my Instagram, I’ve been posting a few of my favorite abandoned places that I’ve explored over the years. The Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn. Centralia’s graffiti highway. Hospitals and factories and houses left to rot in the woods. It all fascinates me. Not simply the location itself…but the human presence left behind.

Crissa-Jean Chappell was born in Miami and now lives in Brooklyn, New York.  She is the author of several award-winning novels including TOTAL CONSTANT ORDER (a VOYA Perfect Ten and New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age), MORE THAN GOOD ENOUGH, which Kirkus calls “compelling and emotionally nuanced…” (a Florida Book Award medalist) and SNOWBIRDS (“…an engrossing mystery…” School Library Journal). Her most recent novel is SUN DON’T SHINE (a Children’s Book Council Favorite). She holds a PhD and MFA from the University of Miami and is a professor of creative writing at Lehman College. When she misses South Florida, she talks to the parrots in Green-Wood Cemetery.