Caroline B. Cooney, a prolific author of young adult literature, is well known for her ability to create both personable and realistic heroines. Approximately half her novels are romances. "I believe that to love and to be loved are the most fierce desires any of us will ever have."¹

"Blessed with an extemely happy childhood," Cooney grew up in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, "leading a completely ordinary, suburban life. We lived on a nice old street with lots of other kids who all knew each other from kindergarten up through high school. There was great pleasure to be had in just staying near home, playing with friends. If there were problems in the community, we certainly didn't know about them; it was a very innocent time. My parents told me and my brother that we were the most wonderful kids on earth. And we believed it.

"Starting with piano...