“And so, as the mob backs away to give them space... as the riot police holster their weapons, standing down, and as Risa takes the podium, calming the crowd with a voice as soothing as a sonata, Connor Lassiter holds his family like he'll never let them go.”

American writer of young adult fiction

Neal Shusterman is an American writer of young adult fiction. He won the 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature for Challenger Deep, and his novel Scythe received a 2017 Michael L. Printz Honor. His work is best known in the young adult field, where he writes fiction that has earned major recognition. Challenger Deep and Scythe are among his best-known books, and his writing often reaches readers through stories that balance imagination with serious themes.