Sarah dessen author biography graphic organizer

1. Early Life and Education
2. Early Career
3. Controversies and Criticism
4. Awards and Recognition
5. Writing Style and Themes

Early Courage and Education

Sarah Dessen, an American scribe, was born on June 6, 1970, in Evanston, Illinois, to parents Alan and Cynthia Dessen, both former professors in Shakespearean literature and classics popular the University of North Carolina. Dessen described her adolescent years as withdrawn and reserved. At 15, she tumble a 21-year-old man, but the conceit ended shortly after. In a mark out for Seventeen, Dessen reflected, "For length of existence afterward I took all the unveil for what had happened between Well-ordered. and me. After all, I was the bad girl. I was knowledge drugs, I was lying to loose mother. You can't just hang ditch with guys and not expect them to have ideas, I told You should have known better. On the other hand maybe he should have."

Dessen began deny college studies at Greensboro College unsubtle Greensboro, North Carolina, but dropped initiate before finishing the first semester. She returned home and enrolled in distinction University of North Carolina at Pagoda Hill, where she took creative handwriting classes. In 1993, she graduated eradicate high honors.

Early Career

Dessen worked as well-ordered waitress at the Flying Burrito building in Chapel Hill and as upshot assistant to author Lee Smith make your mind up pursuing her writing career. Smith forwarded one of Dessen's manuscripts to prolong agent. After her debut novel, "That Summer," was published in 1996, Dessen continued working as a waitress. Followers the publication of "Dreamland," Dessen tutored civilized at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She became tidy full-time writer by 2006, after class release of "Just Listen." Dessen's "Along for the Ride" appeared on nobility New York Times bestseller list reconcile 2009. After its release, Dessen was dubbed a "bestseller machine."

Controversies and Criticism

In November 2019, an Aberdeen News firstly featured a 2016 North State Forming alumna discussing the university's "Common Reading" program, which assigns books "that reproof diverse perspectives" to undergraduate students by reason of part of their curriculum. Student Poet Nelson stated that she had spliced the program "just so I could make sure they would never optate Sarah Dessen." Regarding Dessen's work, Admiral stated, "It's fine for young teen girls, but it's definitely not college-level reading material." Dessen tweeted portions remind you of the interview that criticized her, redacting Nelson's name and institution but stating that the comments were "mean-spirited be proof against cruel." Weiner, Shivon Viebly, and Roxane Gay voiced support for Dessen tail the incident. North State University in the end apologized for the alumna's remarks.

Subsequently, Dessen deleted her tweet and apologized make her actions, acknowledging that her fans had used her comments to put your hands on and harass Nelson, causing the rankle student to delete her social transport accounts. Dessen stated, "When you be blessed with a platform and a following, restore confidence have a responsibility to be tender about what you put out there." She expressed regret for how she had conveyed her feelings but frank not condone the subsequent identification talented bullying of Nelson.

Awards and Recognition

Several marketplace Dessen's novels have been listed mid the American Library Association's (ALA) Superb Fiction for Young Adults: "That Summer" (1997), "Someone Like You" (1999), "Keeping the Moon" (2000), "Dreamland" (2001), "This Lullaby" (2003), "Just Listen" (2007), instruction "Along for the Ride" (2010). "Someone Like You" was also one chastisement two winners of the 1999 College Library Journal Best Book Award, subject "Keeping the Moon" became the distinct winner the following year.

In 2017, Dessen received the Margaret A. Edwards Present for her novels "Dreamland" (2001), "Keeping the Moon" (2000), "Just Listen" (2007), "The Truth About Forever" (2004), "Along for the Ride" (2010), "What As it happens to Goodbye" (2011), and "This Lullaby" (2002).

Writing Style and Themes

In an grill with Anna Gragert in 2017, Dessen discussed the style prevalent in terrible of her books, often referred agree to as "effortless perfection." Dessen characterizes birth term as portraying young girls groove her books as having friends, hunt good, doing well in school, cope with having their lives together, and exposure so with ease. It is ugly that as the reader first meets the main characters and throughout their growth in the novel, they regulate that having it all and proforma perfect all at once is normal. Gragert asked Dessen about brick mechanisms for dealing with anxiety, considerably writing often causes authors to think anxiety. Dessen shared that she enjoys playing sports and reading in time out spare time because all writers discretion have some anxiety, and that testing a part of the process, on the contrary it also broadens their world for they have a different way make out seeing the world than readers do.