‘Young Sheldon”s Raegan Revord Talks Debut YA Novel ‘Rules for Fake Girlfriends’ (Exclusive)

When PEOPLE sits down to speak with Raegan Revord, 17, in a quiet restaurant in Hotel Barrière Foquet’s in New York City, Revord is already plotting how to surprise readers with autographed copies of their debut novel, Rules for Fake Girlfriends.

“I go to my local Barnes & Noble, and I’ll go and just sit with my dog and read a book,” they say. “I think I’ll be nonchalant about it. I was told by an author friend, like, if you see [your book], just take a pen and sign the inside cover.”

Becoming an author has always been a dream for Revord, best known for their role as plucky little sibling Missy Cooper on the hit CBS series Young Sheldon. As a kid, they would write stories about American Girl dolls with a friend during recess, and even helmed a newspaper for cast and crew on the sitcom set.

Rules for Fake Girlfriends, out Sept. 2 from Wednesday Books, is a culmination of all those years of writing practice. The book follows Avery Blackwell who, after the death of her mother, decides to forgo attending Columbia University for the small seaside school in England that her mom attended. 

On the train there, however, Avery meets Charlie, who pulls her into a fake-dating scheme in order to avoid her ex. In return, Avery asks Charlie to accompany her on a romp across Brighton, to help her solve a scavenger hunt that her mom left behind — leading the two of them to become closer than they ever intended.

“I love angst, I love tension, I love all the drama,” Revord says of their favorite romance tropes. But it took a pivot or two for them to get to the sweet, yet poignant, young adult novel that became Fake Girlfriends. Revord was originally set on writing a fantasy novel before they went the rom-com route. They were particularly taken with queer love stories like Alice Oseman’s beloved graphic novel series Heartstopper.

“I love how innocent the love story was,” Revord says. “Heartstopper was such an accurate representation of found family friend groups, queer youth, and I think it’s so important to have that. I loved the story and I always wanted to write something that was like that.”

Researching Fake Girlfriends involved reading and watching tons of other rom-coms, as well as trips to London to experience the novel’s setting firsthand. Some of Revord’s own favorite hangouts, like Notting Hill and a quirky Brighton antique shop called Snooper’s Paradise, made it into the novel.

“I always say if I was a city, I would be London,” Revord says. “I love the people. I love the history … I want to one day turn the book into a movie so we could film there. I would want to be very much involved with it.”

Like many writers with day jobs, Revord drafted the novel in snatches, often while on the Young Sheldon set, before the show ended in 2024. They recall hiding their laptop under the table during family dinner scenes, so they could write as much as they could in-between takes.

“The only time I would ever get a normal writing process was when I was home and I would be able to set my computer down, get a tea or a coffee, have my cat with me, make it a vibe,” Revord says. But being on TV at an early age did impact Revord’s writing process, despite them seeing acting and writing as two entirely different mediums.

“I had to learn how to switch between different mindsets with a flick of a switch,” they say. “I would go from being in a scene to doing school for 10 minutes and then go right back to my scene. That really helped prepare me for being able to write.”

Another helpful factor for Revord was writing for a young audience while still being a teenager themself.

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“I’ve read some books where you can tell that it isn’t by someone who’s in the YA range and might not know what a current teenage experience is like,” Revord says. “But then other people have it down so well.”

“Me being 17 and writing a book about someone who’s in the age range can’t hurt. It probably helps with feeling like it’s a current teenage experience that Avery’s having and not one from 10 years ago.”

Revord’s passion for books, however, doesn’t end with writing. The actor also leads Read with Raegan, an online book club aimed toward young readers.

“I like to joke that I came home reading from the hospital [as a baby],” Revord says. “We have a lot of teachers and librarians in our family, so it’s always been a big influence in my life. But because I’ve been reading so much ever since I was little, [I’ve] always been in the world of books. I knew as a reader myself what other readers might want.”

Revord launched the club in 2019 because they didn’t see an online reading community for kids. But choosing a monthly book, and talking with the writers behind them, has its perks beyond building community — especially now that Revord is an author too.

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“It definitely changed how I interview people because I’m more nosy now about their process,” Revord says. “I’m like, ‘What did you do? Teach me your ways.’”

And as Revord embarks on their own writerly journey (a book tour is in the works), they have a little advice for other aspiring young writers.

“A lot of people will doubt you because of your age, and a lot of people will not take you seriously,” they say. “I had such a passion and such a love for this book and this story, and I thought it was so important to tell. And if that’s how you feel about being a writer, then you have enough.”

Rules for Fake Girlfriends is now available, wherever books are sold.