Sarah Lyu's "I Will Find You Again"

Sarah Lyu grew up outside of Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She loves a good hike and can often be found with a paintbrush in one hand and a cup of milky tea in the other. Lyu is the author of The Best Lies and I Will Find You Again.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of I Will Find You Again:

I Will Find You Again, my upcoming YA thriller, sees driven overachiever Chase Ohara devastated when her ex-girlfriend Lia disappears. As she tries to piece together what happened to Lia, Chase’s life turns into a kaleidoscope of heartbreak and disaster: sleepless nights, pink pills in an Altoids tin, a cheating ring at school. She misses her best friend, her soulmate, and the happiness they once shared, and if she can’t work through the past, she may not get a future.

The cast:

Chase Ohara: Elizabeth Yu. It can be a little tricky when dreamcasting young actors of Asian descent given the limited roles available, so I based this choice on Yu’s role on the upcoming live-action adaption of Avatar the Last Airbender where she’ll be playing Azula. Known as one of the villains of the series, Azula is a fierce and calculating opponent, but she has a vulnerable side too, and Chase’s character treads that line carefully. Plus, both aspire to power and have control issues.

Lia: Lana Condor. There’s such an exuberance to Condor’s Lara Jean on To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and I’d love to see her capture the full range of Lia’s personality and experiences—her carefree zest for life and also the moments of sadness and doubt.

Hunter: Elle Fanning. An amazing comedic actor, her portrayal of Catherine on The Great had me in stitches, but it’s Fanning’s ability to capture both the depths of despair and the ferociousness it takes to execute a coup against the Tsar that would make the perfect Hunter, a character whose dark schemes are carefully hidden until the very end.

Chase’s father: Sung Kang. Known for his appearances in the Fast and Furious franchise, he got his start with Justin Lin in Better Luck Tomorrow, a film that partly inspired the cheating ring in I Will Find You Again. Kang is the master of wearing an outward mask of rage that hides deeper motivations and emotions. Chase’s father uses anger as a tool to control his family, but that anger is only a coverup for childhood trauma he never dealt with as an adult.

Chase’s mother: Grace Park. Though she’s best known for her role in the recent Hawaii Five-0 reboot, I fell in love with Park’s acting on Battlestar Galactica, where one of her character’s journey through betrayal really captures the essence of Chase’s mother, who’s dealing with grief over having spent years compromising what she wanted for someone else.

Visit Sarah Lyu's website.

Q&A with Sarah Lyu.

--Marshal Zeringue