Sarah Dessen – In Person!

I’m a pretty nerdy individual… I’m sure if I walked down the street in L.A. and passed by television and movie actors, I would know or probably even care that much.  But, give me the opportunity to hear an author talk by an author I admire and I turn into a total fan!  I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to see Brian Selznick, Chris Van Allsburg, Neil Gaiman, and most recently – Sarah Dessen!
I grew up in a small town with an even smaller library where very few YA books existed and the ones available were nothing compared to the YA available today, so when I outgrew reading the middle grade chapter books, I went straight for adult fiction vetted by my mom and the librarians I knew so well.  I loved Michael Crichton, John Grisham and others, but I very much missed out on YA fiction as a young teen.
I discovered a lot more YA when I got older and absolutely fell in love with Sarah Dessen’s work.  She describes herself as an optimist – everyone stays together and everyone is happy at the ends of her bools (for the most part).  But, I also like that many of her books deal with issues that many teens and their friends are dealing with – abuse, teen pregnancy, death, bullying and more.  I think that books provide a wonderful way to better understand what others are going through or to see how actions can affect your own world.  Teens, I feel, need this more than almost anyone else – they can be happy, anxious, worried, sad, scared, and a host of other emotions at any given time and books can be an escape, therapy, or the push they need to get the help they require.
Sarah Dessen is an author I recommend to almost all the 8th grade girls looking for realistic fiction, YA literature.  And I think almost everyone I recommend her books to, comes back and tells me how much they love her books.  And in person, she seems like a genuinely nice person, down-to-earth, and so sweet to all her fans.