I’m pleased to welcome Andrea Max, author of the YA contemporary fantasy novel, THE ART OF EXILE (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2025). The story weaves history, Jewish mythology, and social justice as the main character, Ava, enters the seemingly utopian world of the Genesis Institute. She faces unexpected challenges and moral dilemmas when she sets out to rescue a friend, and her loyalties are tested. The world-building in THE ART OF EXILE is compelling, and readers will fully engage with Ava’s journey. I’m excited to learn more about Andrea’s inspiration and writing process for her novel.
Can you tell me a bit about your world-building for THE ART OF EXILE? What was your process for creating the setting of the Genesis Institute?
The worldbuilding was one of the most fun parts of writing The Art of Exile. I loved creating a culture that blends Renaissance aesthetics, advanced utopian innovation, and Jewish tradition.
A lot of shaping Maker culture came from asking the question: what would a truly successful utopia look like—not a dystopia in disguise, but an ideal world that actually works? From there, the guild system at the Genesis Institute grew out of imagining what skills a society would need if its members were genuinely committed to the idea of being created b’tzelem Elokim—in the image of God—and to continuing the work of creating and perfecting the world.
In the book, Ada goes through a journey that is both fantastical and fraught with emotions and ethical dilemmas. As a writer, what challenges did you face making Ada a relatable character in unique situations?
Ada’s journey may be fantastical on the surface, but emotionally it’s rooted in very real-world teenage dilemmas. Maybe it’s because I’m a high school teacher who spends so much time with teenage girls, or maybe it’s because I was a fairly angsty teenager myself, but her voice and inner world came very naturally to me.
It was important to me that, no matter how extraordinary her circumstances, the choices Ada faces would feel relevant to modern-day teens. I also tried to avoid any sense of clear black-and-white moral reasoning, because real-world dilemmas are rarely that simple. I’m so grateful that readers have connected with Ada’s voice and found her to be a relatable character.
Jewish mythology is woven into the story. What was this important for you to include?
Judaism was always baked into the foundation of this world. At first, I simply wanted to use it as a default for worldbuilding in the way Christianity has so often been used as a default in fantasy. I wanted to write about a people who were defined by their own exile and who were dedicated to Tikkun Olam. But because of my own identity and upbringing, in writing a story with themes close to my heart, Judaism naturally became far more central to the story I was telling.
Many of the Jewish elements aren’t overt. A reader who doesn’t know to look for them might only notice a few Hebrew words, some Jewish characters, the occasional reference to Jewish history. But many subtle Jewish aspects—biblical and Talmudic references, cultural nuances and traditions, the dynamics of complicated relationships with history, insularity, and prophecy—are woven into almost every layer of the story. And this becomes even more pronounced in the sequel, a book that may appear, on the surface, far less Jewish-focused than the first, but whose core themes are even more deeply rooted in Torah ideas.
The audience that catches these threads may be a narrow one, but it’s incredibly meaningful to hear from readers who do pick up on these elements and to hear what it means to them to see these familiar ideas in a mainstream fantasy.
Thank you, Andrea!
Andrea Max is an English teacher who previously worked as a clinical social worker with an MSW from New York University. Aspects of the history and magic systems in The Art of Exile were inspired by the Jewish tradition and mythology with which she was raised. Andrea lives with her husband and toddler in New Jersey.