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g Shadow Children books from powerhouse writer Margaret Peterson Haddix, together in one volu

Meggin Cabot was born on 1st February 1967, in Bloomington, Indiana. The intervening years of Meggin's childhood were spent in pursuit of air conditioning, of which there was little at the time in Southern Indiana. A primary source proved to be the Monroe County Public Library, where Meggin whiled away many hours, reading the complete works of Jane Austen, Judy Blume and Barbara Cartland. It was around this time that Meggin's desire to be a writer bloomed, a goal that was not forgotten, even when she fell in with a theatre crowd in high school and went on to star in productions such as The Good Doctor and Li'l Abner.After earning a Fine Arts degree at Indiana University, Meggin moved to New York City in 1989, intent in pursuing a career in freelance illustration. Assignments by MTV and Planned Parenthood soon followed. In September, 1994, however, spurred by the sudden death of her father, Meggin dusted off one of the many manuscripts she had penned in her spare time and began to look for representation. Where Roses Grow Wild, her first historical romance was published by St. Martin's Press under the name Patricia Cabot. Two other romances followed, and then prompted by her mother moving in with one of her former a

Korman wrote his first book, This Can't be Happening at Macdonald Hall, when he was 12 years old for a coach who suddenly found himself teaching 7th grade English. He later took that episode and created a book out of it, as well, in The Sixth Grade Nickname Game, where Mr. Huge was based on that 7th grade teacher. Korman moved to New York City where he studied film and film writing. While in New York, he also met his future wife, and they eventually married -- they now have three children. He and his wife live on Long Island with their three children. He has published more than 50 books.

"I write the kind of books I write because I want to help kids understand that nobody gets to pick what life dishes out to them. What you do get to choose is how you respond to what life gives you. No matter what happens, life is a gift. And always worth living." —Lurlene McDaniel

Stine was born in Columbus, Ohio[5] to Anne Stine, a homemaker and Lewis Stine, a shipping clerk.[6] He began writing at age 9 when he found a typewriter in his attic, subsequently beginning to type stories and joke books.

In 1989, Stine teamed up with Parachute Press to create Fear Street.

Lurlene McDaniel began writing about young adults when her son Sean was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of 3. His illness changed the lives of everyone in her family forever. “I saw what life was like for someone who was chronically ill, and I experienced how it affected the dynamics of the family,” says McDaniel. She says she found that writing about the trauma and its effects was therapeutic. She has written over 40 novels about kids who face life-threatening illnesses. To find out more about her, visit her websites:

My path was pure blessing, luck, right place-right time. I wrote ad/pr copy on the side and one day met a woman at a photo shoot and we struck up a conversation. When she discovered I was a writer, she invited me to try my hand at a children's book because her father owned a publishing company---School Book Fairs (now Darby Press). They bought 23 books from me before I moved on to Bantam/Random House.

Letters from my readers usually captivate me with their stories of overcoming great odds and struggles to make the best out of what life hands them.

Unique, beautifully grotesque, and cataclysmic. This book takes some very interesting turns, pitching the reader between being grossed out and engrossed. The subject alone- teacher sleeping with student- is one that makes the majority of people cringe and turn their nose up in disgust. But McDaniel writes Ryan in such a way that immediate discredit doesn't exist, even during his first time in bed with this teacher.

This book will make you think. Ryan's homelife isn't ideal- a mother who died when he was 2 and a father who loves him but travels often for work, leaving him alone the majority of the time- but by the end of the book, I found myself wondering how much, in this scenario, that homelife really mattered. How drastically different would Ryan's decisions have been if he had two loving parents who were there? Granted, sneaking around would have been more difficult but even with his father being gone, it didn't go unnoticed. I think this is a very prime example of a teen knowing what he wants and going for it, all legalities aside. Ryan is a cocky yet sweet guy but becomes his own sort of obsessive, falling quickly for a women double his age. He falls into the trap she sets easily, going through the gauntlet of emotions from lust and love to jealousy and betrayal. He puts Lori first for a long while, at least until her unsettling mental state begins to become apparent. It seems like Ryan gains some insight and maybe even grows a pair, turning back towards his schoolwork and the friends he ditched for her, but still masterfully played both sides.

ri is an incredibly unique character and despite being the sexual predator, she was written in a brilliant way to thrust sympathy and understanding towards her. She could easily have been the victim in this case which added an entirely new element, taking the story as a whole to a different level. This, coupled with Ryan's home life and several other twists- particularly towards the end- all tie together to make this book shocking and memorable. She uses her beauty and body to get what she wants, tossing the reader back and forth between appreciating her for it and despising her.

Harry inaugurated his residency in a sixth-grade English class by giving the students some background on his life as a writer. He explained to students that his wife, young-adult novelist Norma Fox Mazer, and their daughter Ann are also writers. Harry spoke about growing up in the Bronx and then moving to upstate New York, where he currently resides. He worked as a welder during the first ten years of their marriage in order to provide for his young family, but found himself feeling trapped. So, he began writing.