Laurie Halse AndersonWebsite: http://www.writerlady.com/
Books Written:Twisted, Prom, Catalyst, Speak, Fever 1793, Chains, Wintergirls - she also has some picture books and juvenile books
For her book Speak: The Printz Honor Award (which is the teen lit Newbery award), National Book Award Finalist, Edgar Allen Poe Award, LA Times Book Prize, as well as many others
For Fever, 1793: American Library Association (ALA) Best Book for Young Adults selection, and a Junior Library Guild selection.
For Chains: National Book Award Finalist, Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Books Adapted into Films: Speak, starring Kristen Stewart- the same girl who plays Bella in Twilight
Her Niche: She usually writes about high school and the teenagers who end up being left out of a stereotypical category. She does an excellent job of capturing the essence of a teenager's life and the somewhat painful and awkward experiences that come with high school. In between times of writing teenage high school lit, she's written a variety of historical fiction that is almost as popular as her teen lit.
Why I like her (a lot) and why I think you should too: My first encounter with Laurie was her award winning novel Speak. This book is on my all-time favorites list and I have re-read it countless times because it's just that good. Laurie has a way of channeling and expressing the thoughts of teens during the most awkward and, one could argue, "defining" points of their lives. Her stories have a way of bringing the characters to life; you can't help letting your thoughts drift to the situations and people she's created once you're finished reading her novels. Upon reading her books for the first time, you can see that she writes more than just about a girl or a boy in high school- she sells you their story and their pain. I don't think I've "met" any other YA author quite like her.
Which of her books I've read: Speak, Twisted, Catalyst, and Wintergirls. On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being "This book was sent by the gods for us mere mortals to read" and 1 being "This book wouldn't even make good toilet paper") here's how they rate:
Speak- 5
Twisted- 4
Catalyst- 2.5
Wintergirls- 3
No comments:
Post a Comment