Keezy Young: Hello Sunshine (Mental Illness, Psychosis)
- A Novel Mind
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
Hello Sunshine Little Brown Young Readers. On Sale September 23, 2025
ISBN 9780316509572 TP, 9780316509473 HC
Ages 14 & Up
ANM: Welcome to A Novel Mind, Keezy! And a huge congratulations on your new YA graphic novel, Hello Sunshine!
Tell us a bit of the background on how this particular story came to be -- how the themes and ideas came into focus for you. What arrived first, into your imagination? And how did the idea for the book develop from there?
Keezy: It really started with one central idea: what if, instead of the twist being “it was real all along” or “it was psychosis all along,” it was that both were true? That the character is experiencing strange supernatural events, but that they are also struggling with severe mental illness? I was tired of feeling like people like me can’t exist in the same world as ghosts, or demons, or magic, and I wanted to explore what it would look like for someone with psychosis to encounter a world like that--how it might complicate the illness, and likewise, how the illness might complicate others’ understanding of what’s happening.
I say that that’s the starting point, and it is, but I think what really triggered it to begin with is that in 2021, my nana--whom I was very close to, and whom I inherited my own severe mental illness from (I have bipolar 1, with psychotic features)--was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her diagnosis and the prospect of losing her got me thinking a lot about severe mental illness, how it runs in families, and the impact that it’s had on my own family. A lot of that went into Hello Sunshine, and I was lucky to have my nana for another year after her diagnosis, so that I could continue to have conversations about it with her. Many of those conversations made it into the book in some form or another.
ANM: Thank you for bringing up the very important family/genetic component of mental health/neurodiversity diagnoses. And deep condolences about your nana - she sounds like she was a lovely and important influence on you.
Let's talk about the combination in Hello Sunshine of lush/creepy visuals (it is supernatural/horror, after all) -- with sweet queer romance. The parts I've read truly do strike this amazing balance, or perhaps it's a tension, or synergy -- how hard was this to pull off -- this interplay between text and image?
Keezy: I did worry that I was leaning too hard in one direction or the other at times! I think it was important, though, to balance the horror elements with the brighter, softer elements, both because it’s a book for teenagers, and because I think the contrast makes both aspects more poignant. It’s really important to me, personally, that everything I write for kids contains hope. That doesn’t mean I don’t write tragedy or horror, of course, but it has to feel meaningful. In Hello Sunshine, that meant balancing the distressing nature of what is happening to Alex and his friends with humor, romance, and compassion.
ANM: Readers definitely appreciate that balance. Keezy, here's a process question: did you start with the story, or the art? Or do you work on both together? Tell us a bit about the process of creating. Was it any different this time from other work you've done?
Keezy: I always start with the story first! I sort of “see” the art in my head as I write, but I have to work through my ideas and then write a full script before I tackle the drawing parts.
In a way, though, I would definitely also say that the art is a kind of writing, in comics. It’s telling the story just as much as the dialogue is, and I’m always finding new ways to tell the story once I start drawing.
As for whether it was different from other work I’ve done, not in terms of the process, but definitely in terms of my investment in it, and the length of time I worked on it! My first book, Taproot, was something I completed in about four months, whereas Hello Sunshine took three and a half years, haha.
I’ve never cared more about a project or spent more time trying to make sure it could be the story it deserved to be.
ANM: This is so meaningful to know. Let's talk mental health: Can you tell us a bit about how you approached the portrayal of mental illness in the story? What do you hope a reader will take away and remember?
Keezy: It was really important to me to depict schizoaffective disorder both realistically and compassionately. It’s a highly stigmatized condition, feared and not well-understood, and as somebody who has a very similar illness, I know how much it hurts when writers use people like you as plot fodder or when they get it badly wrong. It was important to me to not ignore the thorny, complicated parts of psychosis--suicide, police interactions, paranoia about loved ones, etc. But it was equally important to depict Alex as a real person, a wonderful person, with hobbies and interests, friends, and a love life; he’s someone who deserves care and love and healing.
The biggest things I would love for readers to take from this story are that:
● People who experience psychosis are just people. They’re not terrifying axe murderers, and they don’t lose their humanity when they get sick. They’re mostly just extremely scared and confused, and they need help.
● People with severe mental illness can have happy endings. It’s something you’ll always have to live with, but it’s by no means a death sentence! However, they will usually need the support of their loved ones to get there.
● Finally, I would love for kids to be able to recognize some of the symptoms of psychosis, as well as get some ideas for how to help someone who’s experiencing it, and discuss what they might do if they saw a loved one struggling in the same way Alex does. I would love for them to develop curiosity around the topic and seek out more info.
Keezy Young is a queer comic artist, writer, and illustrator from the Pacific Northwest, currently living in Seattle, WA. They grew up drawing on their walls, stealing a few extra chapters by nightlight after bedtime, making graveyards for lost animals in the forest with their brother and sister, and adding monsters and flowers to the margins of every homework assignment. Today, Keezy creates young adult graphic novels and short comics. Their stories are eerie, and often dark, but almost always hopeful at their core.