Ghiblipunk, Fan Fiction, and Healing: Yueh Yang’s “The Omen Girl”

Yang’s debut novel “The Omen Girl” follows a young girl, Sozo, who was abandoned by her parents due to the appearance of her omen stain, a visual marker for the race of Omens that society has deemed criminals and monsters. Sozo’s unique ability to conceal her stain allows her to evade capture while fending for herself on the streets. With the help of another Omen and mentor named Esp, Sozo discovers the untapped potential of her ability: to infiltrate the Decade Race of Stars. She joins the deadly competition in the hopes of winning a wish she can use to enact justice in her world. Before she can do so, she must prove herself in the race by overcoming monsters, outlasting her competitors, and conquering her own inner demons.

Like many writers, Yang’s craft originated with fan fiction. Her idea for “The Omen Girl” started as a “Rogue One” fan fiction that she began writing in 2018, Yang said. While the story was based on the universe and characters of the Star Wars franchise, Yang incorporated much of her own life into her writing. Around the time, she left a cult she had unknowingly joined, which resulted in a “social cataclysm” of intense emotional pain. Yang channeled that pain into a reworked version of the original fanfic.

“I had imbued [‘The Omen Girl’] with all the loss and pain and fire that I was going through at the time and turned it into the work that it is today,” Yang said. 

Re-spinning Fan Fiction

Building on the fanfic’s high-octane science fiction source material, Yang synthesized a new aesthetic for her story — one that she describes as “Ghiblipunk” — that combines the magical whimsy of Hayao Miyazaki’s films with her own Star Wars–inspired alternate universe. While she had written her novel with traditional publishing in mind, she ultimately decided to publish the story on Wattpad — a social platform for readers and aspiring writers — after an unsuccessful attempt at finding an agent. During this time, the site’s annual awards competition, known as “The Wattys,” was running. Yang entered “The Omen Girl” and ended up winning the science fiction category in 2020.

“[Fan fiction] is just such a beautiful, freeing space to create,” Yang said.

On Wattpad, Yang found a community of supporters for “The Omen Girl.” One of its biggest advantages was the way it appealed to young readers. Though Yang didn’t think much about the young adult genre as a target literary space while writing, she is grateful for the creative outlet it provided for her younger self.

“There is something magical about the young adult space,” Yang said. “Just the way that young adults experience life and see life, and the way that they experience emotions. I think it’s just more raw and more real, so as a writer, it’s a lot more fun to explore.”

It is no wonder, then, that Yang’s emotions shaped the final form of the novel. Though the premise of “The Omen Girl” remained largely the same as her fanfic, which already comprised an original universe and characters, she realized she needed more conflict in her second draft. To solve this, she added the “Omen crisis,” which became central to Sozo’s story.

However, Yang still needed to figure out the true purpose of the Omens and what they represented. She said she filled these details in as she wrote.

“I still didn’t really know what the Omens were,” Yang said. “They started out as just this fringe group, and I wasn’t quite sure who they were or what they were related to.”

After leaving the cult, Yang, distraught, turned to her story for comfort. She directed her anger and pain into her writing and used her experience to better define the Omens. The resulting concept was a group of people whose “sins” appear on their skin, reflecting the sense of shame and ostracization that Yang herself had experienced.

“This book was highly personal,” Yang said. “It became almost therapy for me … Everything [Sozo] goes through, I went through — that feeling of isolation, that feeling of being demonized, but also the light at the end of the tunnel with her meeting Naqi and experiencing love for the first time and … the process of healing through pain.”

Cultural Representation in “The Omen Girl”

While “The Omen Girl” provided a sense of catharsis for Yang to channel her emotions, it also gave her a space to embed her own cultural background into the “Rogue One”-inspired universe.

Yang, who is Taiwanese and Korean, said she wanted “The Omen Girl” to reflect the settings and memories that were familiar to her. Much of the book takes place in a fictionalized world inspired by Taiwan, including its landscapes and night markets, where Yang grew up. 

“I remember so distinctly, just every night, we would walk out and we would experience the night life,” Yang shared. “I remember the colors and the life and all the different types of food and bubble tea … and just being in love with life and the magic of it.”

Yang later emigrated with her family to Canada, where she spent the latter part of her childhood missing Taiwan and acclimating to the wintry northern landscapes. Miyazaki’s films reminded her of the magic of her childhood home and became one of her main sources of inspiration.

“The magic that [Miyazaki] imbued with all of his films — his love of flying, his love of magic and stars, and his strong female characters — really left an imprint on me,” Yang said.

Looking to the Future

With “The Omen Girl” out on shelves, Yang reflected positively on the whole experience. From finishing her first draft in 2018 to starting revisions in 2020, Yang said it felt surreal seeing her book in stores five years later. Also a full-time piano teacher, Yang recalled writing on her iPad on the bus during her commute to work and in between teaching lessons.

“It’s been such a magical journey,” Yang said. “There are moments where I’m just kind of sitting quietly, and I think to myself, like, ‘this was such an incredible privilege and gift.’”

While she doesn’t know if she’ll continue writing young adult stories, she may eventually return to Sozo’s world for a sequel. In the meantime, Yang’s goal is to continue writing science fiction and fantasy, highlighting characters and plots that “delight” her inner child.

You can follow Yueh Yang on Instagram at @yuehverse. “The Omen Girl” is available online and at your local bookstore. Links on this page lead to our Bookshop.org storefront, where every purchase supports both your reading journey and ours. Thank you!