American children's author whose best-known works include The Missing series, The 39 Clues series, and the Shadow Children books. She is a recipient of the International Reading Association Children's Book Award.
She earned a degree in creative writing from Miami University in 1987 and published her first book eight years later. She also worked for a time as a newspaper Editor in Indiana.
She received the Best Book for Young Adults Award from the American Library Association.
She grew up on a farm in Ohio. Later, she and her husband, Doug, became parents to two children: Meredith and Connor.
She and Outsiders author S.E. Hinton both became prominent Writers of young adult fiction.
