This '80s Movie Heartthrob Is Writing A YA Novel

Considering I was always Team Blane over Team Duckie, I'm sounding the alarms that former Brat Pack member and Pretty in Pink star Andrew McCarthy's new YA novel Just Fly Away is set to be published (and on my bookshelf) spring 2017. It seems St. Elmo's Fire's Kevin ditched his depressing obituary writing and turned out a novel after all.

McCarthy is notorious as everyone's favorite '80s pretty little rich boy. He made us swoon as Molly Ringwald's dream date Blane McDonnagh in Pretty in Pink — unless you were 'shipping a Duckie-Andie romance built on Jon Cryer's Duckie's unrelenting stalking and obsession. He made us seriously consider dating a struggling writer in St. Elmo's Fire, though we'd always play second fiddle to his love, Ally Sheedy's Leslie. And he showed us we'd always have a shoulder to lean on in case of too many beach-side cocktails in Weekend at Bernie's.

Just Fly Away centers on a 15-year-old New Jersey girl who finds out her half-brother, who she never knew existed, not only is a person, but he lives in the same town. In a statement, McCarthy spoke about his excitement over his debut fiction book:

I’m delighted to have my debut novel land at Algonquin, a house that has a great reputation for not just publishing great books, but also nurturing books and authors both at launch and over a lifetime.

This is McCarthy's second book. His memoir The Longest Way Home: One Man's Quest for the Courage to Settle Down was published in 2012. Though he still appears as an actor and works as a director — he notably has directed episodes of HBO's Orange Is the New Black — dreamy Blane grew up to have the extra-dreamy job of travel writer and editor at large for National Geographic Traveler.

And now he adds YA novelist to his impressive resume? Your move, Duckie.

Images: Paramount Pictures; Giphy (2)