Picture Credit: Netflix
Finished Crew Girl and impatiently awaiting Season 2? We have the perfect solution. Introducing the official Crew Girl novel. Following the release of the novel on November 3, author Sheila McClure stopped by our site to discuss her screen-to-book adaptation — and why it’s essential reading for fans of the show.
Netflix’s Crew Girl was a huge success when it debuted back in September, charting on the streamer’s Top 10 across 80+ countries. Rather unsurprisingly, the series was renewed just a few weeks after launch, and fans are now in the long wait for Season 2. However, here to help soften the wait for the next batch of episodes is author Sheila McClure, who has penned an official novel based on the series.
The Crew Girl novel retells the entire first season of the series. Sure, it’s a little odd that the novel has come after the TV series, but hear us out: it allows readers to experience the story in an entirely new medium, unlocking the ability to access characters’ inner monologues during key scenes. For those of you who can’t get enough of Crew Girl, this novel goes out to you.
With the novel out now, we’ve caught up with author Sheila McClure. Check out our interview down below!
It’s not super common that we see a novel like this. Typically adaptations usually go from book to screen, but Crew Girl moved from screen to page. What was the most exciting part (and your biggest challenge) of translating the show into prose?
Absolutely right! It’s normally the other way around. Book first, show second. This time, the show came first. They developed the series concept, pitched it to Netflix, wrote the scripts, got the greenlight and started filming all within a handful of months. In TV time, that’s the blink of an eye. We had a similar experience with the book.
Crew Girl was in the final stages of production (summer 2026) when the book’s publisher (Tempest/Hachette) reached out and asked if I’d be interested in novelising a YA series about a competitive rower whose life goes topsy-turvy. I’d just binge-watched Off Campus so I did not hesitate to say yes. That’s when I found out I’d have just under three weeks to do it.
Gulp!
Blue Ant (the production company) gave me the scripts and the (mostly) finished episodes as guides. This is when I truly understood the adage “a picture is worth a thousand words.” There’s so much that can be said with a look, a shrug, a smile, a kiss, and that’s not counting the background, the clothes they’re wearing, who may or may not be watching, the weather, or whether something smells delicious – things actors and the camera can capture in seconds.
We also decided the book should be from the perspectives of the three main protagonists (Teagan, Josh, and Cam). As you probably know, the series contains a multitude of scenes from all of the characters’ perspectives, so it was a bit of a mind bender trying to figure out how to translate all of that information. I couldn’t have Teagan, Josh, and Cam overhear all of the info viewers receive. It was fun figuring out how and who would deliver the information. Juliet (one of my favourite characters) is a source of much wisdom in the book (and the series). She’s the first one to take Teagan under her wing at Easton Prep and give her the lay of the land so I expanded on her “reportage” role in the book which was great fun.
Crew Girl S1. (L to R) Miku Martineau as Teagan Tao and Jessica Paré as Ella Tao in Crew Girl S1. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026
One of the big benefits of writing a novel compared to a TV show is your ability to access Teagan’s inner voice. How did you work to capture Teagan’s inner monologue?
I just tapped into my pool of teenage angst and voila! Jokes aside, I think the production team did a great job of making it clear who Teagan was on the page (scripts) and screen (the fabulous Miku Martineau). The show writers also read the first few chapters I had written before I’d finished writing the entire thing and gave some wonderful feedback that helped crystallise who Teagan is, what motivated her and, as importantly, who she wanted to become.
I moved a lot as a kid so am well aware of the ‘new kid on the block’ feeling. While some of her experiences (a father on the run from the law) are not in my wheelhouse, everything Teagan feels was completely relatable and understandable considering the tsunami of changes she is contending with. I loved her dry wit as well and leaned into that as she navigated the politics of Easton Prep’s wonderful array of students.
Did writing this novel give you space to explore character backstories, subplots, or perspectives that, perhaps, we didn’t see in the Netflix series?
There was a bit of elbow room, but, at that point, the show hadn’t even aired let alone been commissioned for a second season, so the main focus was on ensuring the book was on a par with the fabulous performances the actors gave. With three weeks to write it, there also was a time crunch. There are definitely a few nuggets in there that aren’t in the television series so (obviously) it’s worth reading and viewing!
How much of the TV show’s original dialogue do you keep word-for-word, alter for prose, or do you do a bit of both?
It was a bit of both. Sometimes the great dialogue in the series flowed in sync with the prose, but there were other times when, say, I had to invent a scene to explain something the viewer would see in the series, but the characters wouldn’t know in the book, so I wrote that dialogue. Each of the characters had quite distinct flairs for one-liners that was fun to try and match with the show writers.
When writing this novel (and all of that romance angst!) was there a scene or moment that was particularly fun to write? And which characters came most naturally to you?
Oooo…That’s a tough one. I loved all of them and, as the series gives each of the characters beyond the three main protagonists their own spot in the limelight, it was really fun writing all of them. The writers at Blue Ant gave me some great insight into how they saw the characters and when I learned they spoke about them as if they were real people in the writer’s room, I did the same.
That said, I definitely related to Juliet (apart from the uber-rich part…I’m more Team Cam on that front). I was not a sporty kid and, whilst not nearly as cool as Juliet, would have been the self-assigned ‘help the new girl’ volunteer. But honestly, they were all so fun. Josh and Britney! Magic. Baloo! Quaid! Crabcatcher! What’s not to love? The actors did such a wonderful job bringing them to life I was a bit smitten with everyone by the end.
Picture Credit: Hachette UK
What’s your personal experience with rowing? Does experiencing it help write about it more authentically?
I’ve paddled on a canoe and have been on a rowing machine! Does that count?
Obviously, the most experience you have in whatever you’re writing about, the more authentic it is. I used to be a journalist so tend to dive into whatever world and do whatever I can. This time round, time was very short, so I watched and read as much as I could. There are some amazing blogs and podcasts out there that definitely helped.
Weirdly, in the lead up to writing the book, I had a couple of moments that made the offer feel like kismet.
My dad, who had recently passed away, had been coxswain for the rowing team at the Naval Academy (many moons ago) and when I’d gone home for his memorial (the same month they started filming, apparently!), the men and women’s British rowing teams were on my flight to Seattle to compete with the University of Washington, Canada’s National rowing team and Northeastern University in the Windermere Regatta! (All this, a boat ride away from Victoria where a lot of the series was filmed).
They all towered over me and I wondered how on earth they were going to fit in the economy section. (They stood up a lot). I have a pal whose nephew was on Team GB for both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics so, because I’m me, had to talk to them and they were all super friendly and utterly delighted to hear I knew about rowing.
You’ve spent a long time with these characters, and I think it goes without saying that you know them better than most. With Crew Girl officially renewed for Season 2 at Netflix, where would you personally like to see the story head next?
Another toughie. (Has everyone seen the series already? There are some spoilers ahead if they haven’t, so look away! Look away!)
Obviously, watching Teagan taking the helm of her own boat under the eagle eye of Britney is going to be super interesting. You’ve probably already figured out I adore Juliet, so seeing what happens with her is going to be fabulous, whatever it is.
It’ll be interesting to see how Josh is when he gets back as he went through a really huge life change over the course of the first series, so I’m invested.
All of them. Like you said, when you spend time with them in the way I was lucky enough to, it’s hard not to want the best (or the worst depending upon who we’re talking about), for all of them. Long live Easton Prep!
The Crew Girl novel is now available to buy through Hachette. We thank Sheila McClure for her time.