“But that was completely untrue,” Gong laughs. Up until that point, she had been under the impression that she couldn’t get published because she was from New Zealand. Gong wrote the first draft of “These Violent Delights” during the summer after her first year of college.

I might work on my book.’ I would crank out a manuscript every year.” I would have so much free time, and I would be like, ‘Hmm. I watch American TV and everyone has extracurriculars and all that. Gong explains: “New Zealand has a much more chill atmosphere than what I imagine American high schools are like. She started tapping out stories on the Notes app on her iPad when she was 13. “These Violent Delights” - a reimagining of “Romeo and Juliet” set in 1920s Shanghai - is Gong’s first published novel, and the ninth one she’s written. She says she was in her “tiny college apartment” in Philadelphia, working on “something that was due very soon,” when she heard the “surreal but amazing” news: “My editor called me, and my agent was already on the line, and I was trembling. Gong, a Shanghai native who grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is double-majoring in English and international relations. 25, Chloe Gong tweeted, “My heart is going so fast I can’t even type!! THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS is a New York Times Best Seller!!! THANK YOU FOR READING AND PICKING UP THIS BOOK I NEED TO LIE DOWN.” It’s not every day that a 21-year-old debut author lands near the top of the young adult hardcover list, even for a week if there was ever an occasion that called for abundant exclamation points, this was the one.

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