American-born writer CJ Daugherty is the author of the successful Night School series, the first of which was the #5 bestselling YA debut of 2012. I got a chance to chat with CJ about the new book.

Set in today's Northern Ireland, Popular follows the story of four privileged Belfast teens with more money than sense as they each learn a bit more about each other and their own lives.

Shan - real name Darren O'Shaughnessy - became a full-time writer at the age of 23, and has since sold over 20 million copies of his books worldwide, becoming bestsellers in the US, UK, Ireland and elsewhere.

I know why I wanted to read gritty books when I was a teenager-- because my life was gritty. It wasn't sunshine and roses. Pink fuzzy unicorns weren't puking rainbows. There were issues in my home. There were issues in my friends' homes.

I quickened my steps to escape the wind lashing Waterloo Bridge and ducked left, looking around for a sign. I was searching for what I had imagined to be a gritty pub, where members of the Post-Apocalyptic Book Club were congregating: The Coal Hole.