“This was the ghetto: where children grow down instead of up.”

American writer of children's novels

Jerry Spinelli is an American writer of children's novels. He is known for fiction about adolescence and early adulthood, and for books such as Maniac Magee, Stargirl, and Wringer. His work often focuses on young people moving through difficult or defining stages of life. Spinelli's novels are widely read in children's literature, especially for their attention to growing up, identity, and the pressures that shape those years.