We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Leif, the author of the engrossing and spooky Take All of Us, a YA novel with a unique take on zombies. In the world Leif’s created, zombiesm is a disease that slowly double-kills you. Take All of Us asks questions about friends, love, mercy and an impending apocalypse.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Leif on Take All of Us
Zoe Keller: Firstly, thank you for taking the time to answer GGA’s questions. I truly loved Take All of Us. The novel has a perhaps unprecedented take on zombieism — how did that come about?
Leif: A good portion of media (at least Western media, as far as I know) tends to treat zombies as a very “external” threat — a monster in the shape of your loved one attacking you or a mass of faceless, hungry monsters descending upon your town. But a lot of the traits of zombieism seem like a very “internal” horror — losing your sense of identity, your memories, your body to a ruthless rot and hunger.
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As someone who’s struggled a lot with memory issues and identity, I wanted to focus on that internal dread of your body and mind starting to shut down and betray you. I also thought it’d be fun to have a story where each character comes into it with very different POVs, themes and assumptions. For example, to Eric, this is a horror story about his loved one getting consumed and turned into a monster. But for Ian, it’s a sweet coming-of-age story.
Disability Representation
ZK: Disability rep in media is few and far between, epilepsy being one of the further between. Besides being a disability that’s touched my own life significantly, it fascinates me because it walks the line between invisible and highly so. What led you to a) choose to give Ian a disability and b) select epilepsy?
L: Funny story! I was actually originally planning to build a good chunk of the story around Angel and her autism, with Ian being a non-autistic “straight man” watching her struggle to handle the reality of the apocalypse against her isolated prepper training. This was pretty overtly based on my experience growing up on a prepper farm and my own autism diagnosis, which I was struggling to process at the time.
After 2020, I began spending a lot of time with a neurodivergent peer group during the long lockdown, including several close friends whose Pandemic Stories about seizures and medical neglect helped shape the rest of the cast. MUCH later on, I’d learn that autism is VERY comorbid with epilepsy, with them apparently sharing a genetic origin and many symptoms — such as overstimulation, aversion to bright light/loud noise, dissociation, poor balance, etc.
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Having one also dramatically increases the odds of having the other. So, in trying to distance myself from Angel’s neurodivergence through Ian, I ended up emphasizing the traits that they both shared, anyway. So, it came full circle.
Refuse to Be Buried
ZK: I’m a millennial, and I think “Bury Your Gays” is a problematic trope for many in our age group. Marketing Take All of Us as an “Unbury Your Gays” novel is a genius move, though Ian’s death and Eric’s goal to kill him were still hard to read. But that got me thinking: Will Gens Alpha and Z, the intended audience, have the same trauma response? Queer media has changed so much that maybe one dead gay character is fine for them. Do you have any insight into that theory?
L: It’s an interesting theory, and it’s hard to say! I’m often amazed at the ease with which Gen Z and Gen Alpha kids have come to accept and celebrate homosexuality in daily life. As someone who grew up in the 2000s with Katy Perry’s “You’re So Gay” and Sailor Moon‘s infamous “cousins” censorship, it’s surreal to watch. I guess that means that Unburying Your Gays isn’t particularly subversive anymore — like smoking or listening to Linkin Park — so I’m sorry for being a bit cringe.
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But I hope the underlying idea behind it — to refuse to be buried, to push back against being submissive and agreeable, to take up space as a messy, disabled queer kid — is still what some kids need to hear, especially in pandemic times, where it seems like a lot of people want to pretend that kids like Ian don’t exist at all.
A Wizard of Oz Quality
ZK: There’s a Wizard of Oz quality to Take All of Us ( though more ambiguous) — ultimate gay culture! — was that an intentional reference or a happy accident?
L: A happy accident, though now you’ve got me wondering which character would be which on their quest! They’re all looking for Courage, Heart and Braaaains, as well as a way back “home.” Maybe Monica the Anxious Lion, Angel the Ruthless Tinman, Eric the Dumbass Scarecrow, and Ian with the ruby red shoes? Take your pick.
ZK: Those are all my questions about Take All of Us. Now, I’d love to ask you some questions about your favorite media. What are you reading/watching/playing/listening to these days?
L: I’ve been playing a lot of Baldur’s Gate 3 lately, now that I have some free time. If I can resist going back in for a second campaign, I’d also like to replay Psychonauts 2.
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Favorite Fandom
ZK: What’s your favorite fandom?
L: For fandoms … is it weird if I say Danny Phantom? The graphic novel that came out last year inspired me to circle back to it after years away. It’s wonderful to see people still making content and exploring the characters after nearly 20 years.
I’ve also — if this counts as a fandom — been really into making miniatures lately, including sharing pics and tips on Reddit and checking out Miniverse orbs as they release. It’s apparently good for my soul to take some time off from the computer and make something with my hands, so … Thanks again for reaching out. 😀
Thanks so much to Leif for answering our questions. You can check out their book, Take All of Us, now. It’s a great addition to your spooky season book list!
Check out Leif on Twitter (they make a lot of cool art).
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