Please tell us a little about yourself and The Castoffs. 

My name is Gina LoPresto. I have a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in creative writing from the University of Minnesota, and I work in a member services position for a local credit union. My [2025] book The Castoffs is a young adult survival novel about two girls—13-year-old Grace Cruz and 18-year-old Sam White—who are stranded on a raft in the middle of the ocean. Prior to this, Grace has struggled with her friends leaving her out of their activities and forming their own groups. She’s worried that she won’t have any friends once she starts middle school. Meanwhile, Sam, who’s recently graduated from high school, doesn’t know what her career path is. Her friends have their lives figured out, but Sam can’t see herself doing any job long term. Together the two girls must learn not only how to survive, but also figure out how to face their problems in their lives at home. 

What sparked your idea for your novel?

I got the idea for my book after reading S.A. Bodeen’s novel The Raft [from 2012]. It’s a young adult survival novel about a girl who gets stranded on a raft after a plane crash. I felt that the book was very riveting, which made me want to write my own young adult survival book. 

What made you interested in storytelling?

I got interested in storytelling when I was in my senior year of high school and took my first creative writing class. Up until then, while I’d read a lot as a teenager, I’d never considered writing as an option for a career path. But when I took the class, I quickly fell in love with writing, and I decided that I wanted to make storytelling my chosen career.  

How did you develop your characters?

It was very important to me that both Sam and Grace have an equal share of growth in my book, in order to show that both of their stories matter. I was particularly concerned that Grace not simply be someone Sam has to take care of, but grow into her own person as well. I also wanted Sam to not only see herself as the adult of the situation who has to handle everything, but as a person who sometimes needs help, too.   

Is there anything you would do differently in your next book?

I would definitely make my next book longer so that I could develop my plot and my characters more fully. I would also add more personality traits/interests to my characters so that my audience could get a better grasp of who they are.  

Portions of this Q&A were edited for clarity.