Caroline B. Cooney began her writing career as an unpublished historical novelist but switched to writing novels for young adults when her short stories for this age group found a market in magazines like Seventeen. Cooney's enthusiasm for her career and audience is quite apparent. "I love writing and do not know why it is considered such a difficult, agonizing profession. I love all of it, thinking up the plots, getting to know the kids in the story, their parents, backyards, pizza toppings."

Mystery, adventure and romance in varying combinations preoccupy many of Cooney's young adult novels. For example in her recent work Burning Up (1999), fifteen-year-old Macy discovers disturbing secrets about her family and their community as she discovers the truth concerning a 38year-old fire and an innocent victim. Her novels can be about supernatural creatures like vampires or time-slip fantasies. (See selected books...