Kitty Lever joins Shelf

Kitty Lever is ever-changing, yet effortlessly herself

With her arctic-blonde aura and ocean-blue stare, Kitty is a natural muse—and a self-made one. Whether she’s dissecting the layered brilliance of Charli XCX’s Brat or defending A Court of Wings and Ruin as the superior installment in the “ACOTAR” series, Kitty brings a level of depth and self-awareness that cuts through the noise of the internet. She isn’t just participating in the cultural moment, but making it moodier, prettier, and weirder in the best way. A creator, model, and writer with an eye for transformation and a heart that yearns (hard), Kitty’s corner of the internet feels like a mashup of Ghost Whisperer, Charli XCX deep cuts, and a stack of annotated paperbacks. Her presence is warm and inviting, but it’s also sharp and never performative. Read along as she opens up about the edits that break her brain, the Brittany Murphy-coded truth behind her online persona, and more!

ShelfMag: Out of curiosity, what’s your top song on Shelf right now?

@kittylever: I am the victim of the TikTok edits of songs. So like it'll be a song that I've already heard, but once I see like a TikTok edit to a song, I want to listen to it. So literally my most recent—I played it seven times, I guess—this was probably last night that I played it seven times, which is fine, but it’s the “Some Protector” song by Role Model.

ShelfMag: Oh my God, that's so funny.

@kittylever: Well, I saw an edit of him and Emma Chamberlain, but like that's really the only song. I'm not like a Role Model fan. You know what I mean?

ShelfMag: Yeah

@kittylever: I'm in the process of writing a book and last night I had all of my shit all over the place and I was like getting myself into the head space to yearn…

ShelfMag: And this was the song that helped you do it?

@kittylever: Yeah that was the song that helped me yearn!

ShelfMag: I get it. What are you reading right now?

@kittylever: A Court of Wings and Ruin. I'm almost done with it too.

ShelfMag: Oh my God. That's the best one.

@kittylever: It's so good. It's honestly devastating, though. Everybody said that A Court of Mist and Fury was the best one. I completely disagree.

ShelfMag: Really?

@kittylever: I think the third one is the best because all of the plot lines and the characters are so deep into their story storyline that you're not being bombarded with new characters or what's going on. And also, I don't know…in the beginning I feel like it took so long for Feyre to get there.

ShelfMag: I think that’s why people like A Court of Mist and Fury so much. It's like the yearning finally paid off. When she finally realizes that they're mated, it just hits. I think you have to add this book to your Shelf right now. You need to add it to your Shelf so people can react.

@kittylever: I'm excited to read [Sarah J. Maas’] other books. God, I haven't been this compelled to read fiction like this since literally Twilight and The Hunger Games. I haven't read the latest Hunger Games book yet, but I've been waiting for something that I can really be sucked into that is just so, so far away from whatever reality exists today. I will say, though, it's so strange because it makes you not like that regular life is so dull in comparison…After I finished A Court of Mist and Fury I was, like, mourning it for a little bit. It was all I could think about. Sometimes I finish whatever I'm reading and I'm like “Damn. Now I have to walk to the subway station.” You know what I mean?

ShelfMag: I do know what you mean. I relate to that completely. That's why Heir of Fire is my subway book. I need to just dissociate. What was your childhood comfort show, and what do you think it reveals about your emotional damage today?

@kittylever: Oh my God. I think my favorite show growing up was Ghost Whisperer. It's the craziest. Basically this woman would talk to ghosts and she would help ghosts get to the light and communicate with people that were still alive and mourning their loved ones, but sometimes it would be crazy ghosts. That was definitely my favorite show growing up. I watched it all the time. It was with Jennifer Love Hewitt.

ShelfMag: What's a book that you wish you could read again for the very first time?

@kittylever: I literally swear to god it would be this series—the Court of Thorns and Roses series. Honestly I wouldn't read the second one again for the first time only because—

ShelfMag: That’s such a hot take!

@kittylever: —they didn't end up figuring out they were mated until literally the last 50 pages! And I was yearning that whole book. Actually, maybe I would go with a simpler choice, like The Hunger Games. I would like to read it again because I feel like that plot was just the craziest thing anybody's ever read. And I love seeing that it's being recirculated on TikTok. I see like four edits a day—at least—on my FYP recently. And I'm like, I need to watch this movie again….I wish I could re-read that book because that shit was crazy.

ShelfMag: It really was. It feels apt now. It feels appropriate that people are coming back to it now, given the state of the world.

@kittylever: That's what I'm saying. And it's crazy because I kind of saw parallels, but I was also, like, 14 when I read it. There's some books I would read with my brain now, because things like the vocabulary, lexicon, or comprehension...like, it feels different when you're older.

ShelfMag: Where do you feel you find yourself turning towards when you need creative inspiration? Whether you're looking for a prompt to write, or you're just looking for some sort of reset.

@kittylever: That's a good question. Honestly if I need some sort of reset, sometimes I take a break from my phone completely and I'll work out and I swear something gets jump-started in my brain to where things are working again. It's crazy. I've always found that going looking for inspiration never helps me. I almost have to do something that is completely separate from creativity or art.

ShelfMag: At the end of the day, it's always about touching grass. What would you consider an immediate green flag if you saw it on someone's shelf?

@kittylever: Maybe some niche piece of media? One of my favorite people that I'm subscribed to on Patreon, her name is Sigh Swoon. Every single time I read anything she writes or—she has, like, audio zines where she'll do a four hour conversation—and every single time I listen to it, I'm like ”holy…” Even her last one. If I saw that on someone’s Shelf, I’d be like “whoa, that person is like, in it.” Anything I feel is maybe more thoughtful or it feels underground to you, and anything on somebody's Shelf working towards personal growth or improvement I feel is a green flag.

ShelfMag: What's a piece of pop culture that you think has shaped your personality probably more than it should have?

@kittylever: Oh my God. I think about this all the time. I think the Brat album by Charli XCX, mostly because I had never understood how artists could create a whole world. Like, obviously, you know, we love albums and we love artistry, but I feel like she created a whole world. And then on top of that, I feel like “Girl, so confusing”—the remix with Lorde, I feel like it explains the complexity of female friendships and relationships so perfectly. And the amount of courage it took to put that out into the ether...It impacted the way I wanted to present myself in the world, too. The honesty of all of it, you know? I could keep going because I've talked about this. And the fact that throughout it all, Charli has a fiancé…and she references him in some of her songs. I feel like that was important because I feel like some people think that you have to be single to have fun or to party but that's just a boy or a man that's uncomfortable with you being free. And that impacted my brain. Like, I can still have fun and a supportive person in my life will allow me to feel free and to have fun. It just changed my perspective and not even just the lyrics—more so the intention behind all of it.

ShelfMag: You know, you should give a TED Talk on Brat. I would come.

If you had to describe Kitty's corner of the Internet across all your platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr) in a song, album, movie, or book, what would it be and why?

@kittylever: Could I say an actress? Like Brittany Murphy? I just love her in so many different ways and all the different types of media that she's in. From Uptown Girls to Girl Interrupted, and then she also closed for D Squared in 2008. I feel like her essence when you watch all of her interviews is just so bubbly and fun and pure and innocent. I feel like she was always able to transform. Even in 8 Mile—she's constantly herself while being somebody else. And that's kind of what I want to give across all of my platforms. Not her, but the essence of changing.

ShelfMag: What's the item on your shelf most likely to stay there forever?

@kittylever: Oh, wow. I think The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. It's a book I've been reading since forever. Hold on, let me go get it. It's because, one, I feel like it's timeless. And two, I always take colored pencils and mess with my books. Especially when it's something like this. If I were to just read a chapter of this a day, it completely alters my perspective for how I’m even going to go into the day. I don't think these kinds of books are something that you should read to finish. I feel like it's something that you read a chapter and you journal on it. And whenever you need something, it's like it finds you. And it's kind of a cliche because I feel like everybody reads the book, but there's a reason why things are sometimes cliche or mainstream. It's because they're good. You know?

ShelfMag: Amen. I say that all the time. Things wouldn't be popular if people didn't like them!

@kittylever: That's what I'm saying. I used to be so afraid of liking mainstream things, but that's why they're mainstream.

Curious about what else Kitty is into? Get real-time updates at shelf.im/kittylever