The Chocolate War is a 1974 young adult novel by American writer Robert Cormier. It was adapted into a film in 1988. Although it received mixed reviews at the time of its publication, some reviewers have argued it is one of the best young adult novels of all time. Set at a fictional Catholic high school, the story depicts a secret student organization's manipulation of the student body, which descends into cruel and ugly mob mentality against a lone, non-conforming student. Because of the novel's language, the concept of a high school secret society using intimidation to enforce the cultural norms of the school and various characters' sexual ponderings, it has been embroiled in censorship controversies and appeared as third on the American Library Association's list of the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books in 2000–2009. A sequel was published in 1985 called Beyond the Chocolate War.
David Gates is an American journalist and novelist. His works have been shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
The Lightning Thief is a 2005 American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology, the first children's novel by Rick Riordan. The opening installment in the series Percy Jackson & the Olympians, the book was recognized among the year's best for children. Riordan followed the novel with various books and spin-off series, spawning the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles media franchise.
Tao Lin is an American novelist, poet, essayist, short-story writer, and artist. He has published four novels, a novella, two books of poetry, a collection of short stories, and a memoir, as well as an extensive assortment of online content. His third novel, Taipei, was published by Vintage on June 4, 2013. His nonfiction book Trip: Psychedelics, Alienation, and Change was published by Vintage on May 1, 2018. His fourth novel, Leave Society, was published by Vintage on August 3, 2021.
Sonya Sones is an American poet and author. She has written seven young adult novels in verse and one novel in verse for adults. The American Library Association (ALA) has named her one of the most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century.
Jennifer Donnelly is an American writer best known for the young adult historical novel A Northern Light.
Gail Godwin is an American novelist and short story writer. Godwin has written 14 novels, two short story collections, three non-fiction books, and ten libretti. Her primary literary accomplishments are her novels, which have included five best-sellers and three finalists for the National Book Award. Most of her books are realistic fiction novels that follow a character's psychological and intellectual development, often based on themes taken from Godwin's own life.
David Treuer is an American writer, critic, and academic. As of 2019, he had published seven books, and his 2019 book, The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present, was a National Book Award Finalist. His work published in 2006 was noted as among the best of the year by several major publications. He published a book of essays in 2006 on Native American fiction that stirred controversy by criticizing major writers of the tradition and concluding, "Native American fiction does not exist."
Joshua Ferris is an American author best known for his debut novel Then We Came to the End (2007). The novel is a comedy about the American workplace, is narrated in the first-person plural, and is set in a fictitious Chicago ad agency facing challenges at the end of the 1990s Internet boom.
Sheba Karim is an American author who writes literature and young adult fiction.
The Bluford Series is a widely read collection of contemporary American young adult novels set in the fictional inner-city high school of Bluford High in Southern California. Bluford is named for Guion "Guy" Bluford, the first African-American astronaut. The series was created and published by Townsend Press and was co-distributed by Scholastic. As part of an effort to promote reading in underfunded school districts, Townsend Press originally made the Bluford Series available to schools for a dollar each. As of 2018, over 11 million Bluford Series novels were in print.
Theodore Weesner was an American author. Born in Flint, Michigan, he is best known for his coming-of-age debut novel, The Car Thief (1972). The book, published by Random House, is in 439 libraries, according to WorldCat
Pamela Erens is an American writer who appeared on a list compiled by the Reader's Digest of "23 Contemporary Writers You Should Have Read by Now". She has written three critically acclaimed novels for adults, a highly praised novel for middle schoolers, and the memoir/critical hybrid Middlemarch and the Imperfect Life. Her debut novel, The Understory (2007), was a fiction finalist for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize,. Erens's second novel, The Virgins (2013), received accolades from many sources including The New York Times, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair. It was a finalist for the John Gardner Fiction Book Award. Her third novel, Eleven Hours, was published in May 2016. It was named a Best Book of 2016 by The New Yorker, NPR, and Kirkus. Erens's middle grade novel, Matasha, was published in June 2021. Erens has also written essays and critical articles for publications such as The New York Times, Vogue, Elle, Virginia Quarterly Review, and Los Angeles Review of Books.
Meredith Russo is an American young adult author from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Sisters is an autobiographical graphic novel written by Raina Telgemeier as a follow-up to her earlier graphic memoir Smile. It details a long summer road trip taken from San Francisco to Colorado by her family and explores the relationship between Raina and her younger sister, Amara.
Andrea Nicole Livingstone, known as Nic Stone, is an American author of young adult fiction and middle grade fiction, best known for her debut novel Dear Martin and her middle grade debut, Clean Getaway. Her novels have been translated into six languages.
Richard M. Levine is an American journalist and author. He is best known for Bad Blood: A Family Murder in Marin County, his 1982 book about the murders of Jim and Naomi Olive.
Melissa Albert is an American author of young adult fiction.
Shaun David Hutchinson is an American author of young adult texts. His novels often "combine speculative elements with LGBT characters and themes."
Katie Williams is an American writer who is known for her 2018 novel Tell the Machine Goodnight which was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and her 2023 novel My Murder.
