Author of the Month

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Caroline Cooney was born in 1947 and grew up in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. An excellent student and ambitious youth, she loved school and was involved in many different activities. By the time she was in tenth grade, Cooney played the piano for musical            productions, directed a choir, and had a job as a church organist. Always an avid reader, Cooney often read series books such as THE HARDY BOYS and CHERRY AMES. These characters had a big influence on her life and in fact, she says "CHERRY AMES, STUDENT NURSE, was my reason to go to nursing school in Bostonlater in life." 

Cooney graduated from Greenwich High School in 1965 and attended various colleges, where she studied music, art, and English. It was in college that she began writing, and discovered a talent and joy in what would become an award-winning writing career. Cooney professes, "I love writing and do not know why it is considered such a difficult, agonizing profession. I love all of it, thinking up the plots, getting to know the kids in the story, their parents, backyards, pizza toppings."

Cooney's love of writing for young adults is clearly demonstrated in her numerous celebrated novels including: Driver's Ed (An ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults, and a Booklist Editors' Choice), Among Friends (A New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age), Twenty Pageants Later (An ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers), and the time travel novels, Both Sides of Time and Out of Time. She is a master of mixing spellbinding suspense with thought-provoking insight into
teenagers' lives. 

Among Cooney's most popular books are the bestselling novels THE FACE ON THE MILK CARTON, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JANIE? and THE VOICE ON THE RADIO. These gripping novels tell the story of Janie Johnson, a young girl who recognizes herself in a
picture of a missing child on a milk carton, and subsequently unravels a complicated history of abduction, fear and deceit. To satisfy the hundreds of fans wanting to know more, Cooney recently concluded Janie's captivating story with WHAT JANIE FOUND, a gripping novel of betrayal. Fifteen-year-old Macey Clare discovers dark secrets about her family and neighbors as she uncovers the truth behind a 38-year-old fire that threatened the life of an innocent victim inher community in Cooney's most recent novel, BURNING UP.

Based on an actual historic event, THE RANSOM OF MERCY CARTER, the author's new book (which is scheduled to be released in October 2000) will be a huge hit with her fans and also with readers fascinated with Native Americans and American history.

An accomplished writer, author, and mother of three children, Caroline Cooney shares her knowledge and love of writing on visits to schools, libraries and conferences. She lives in Westbrook, Connecticut.