Lauren Myracle (born May 15, 1969 in Brevard, North Carolina) is an American author of young adult books. She is the oldest of three sisters and has three older brothers. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia where she attended Trinity School and The Westminster Schools.[1][2] Myracle earned a BA in English and Psychology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. After that, she worked for some time as a middle-school teacher in Gwinnett County, Georgia and participated in the JET Programme in Japan.[3] Myracle later earned an MA in English from Colorado State University, where she taught for two years and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College.[1] She has written many novels, including the best-selling "IM" books, ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r. Her book Thirteen Plus One was released May 4, 2010. Myracle's younger sister, Susan Rebecca White, writes adult fiction, including Bound South (2009) and A Soft Place to Land (2010).
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Her first novel, Kissing Kate, was selected an ALA Best Books for Young Adults for the year 2004. It was named by Booklist as one of the "Top Ten Youth Romances" of the year, as well as one of the "Top Ten Books by New Writers". Her middle-grade novel, Eleven, came out 2004, along with Twelve, which came out in 2007. Myracle published The Fashion Disaster that Changed My Life in 2005. Thirteen was released in March 2008. She recently also came out with the book Thirteen Plus One in 2010. She also wrote Rhymes with Witches, which is included in Anita Silvey's "500 Great Books for Teens",[4] and was nominated for "Best Books for Young Adults" by the American Library Association.[3] Bliss, which came out in 2008, is its prequel. She also has a book entitled How to Be Bad with E. Lockhart.
The "IM" books (ttyl (talk to you later), ttfn (ta ta for now), l8r, g8r (later, gator)) are about 3 friends—Zoe, Maddie, and Angela—who experience typical high school drama: boys, drugs, alcohol, parties, driving, and college prep. The novels ttyl and ttfn were both New York Times bestsellers, and ttyl was the first-ever novel to be written entirely in instant messages.[3] Most of Myracle's novels take place in Atlanta, Georgia and are inspired by her childhood friends and experiences, and her large diverse family. Her latest work (as of November, 2011) Shine is set in rural western North Carolina and deals with a young girl's search for the perpetrators of a hate crime against her gay friend. In October, 2011,a media firestorm erupted when the National Book Foundation announced that Shine was one of five finalist for that year's National Book Award in youth literature, only to modify that announcement within a few hours to state that Shine was one of six nominees for the award and place another YA novel Chime, on the list. According to the Huffington Post and Vanity Fair the Foundation then demanded that Myracle withdraw Shine from consideration, because the Foundation had mistakenly named her book as a finalist when it had meant to name Chime. Myracle's handling of the matter was heralded by the media and internet bloggers as "graceful" and "mature," while the National Book Foundation was pilloried for its inept attempt to correct its own error.
According to the American Library Association, Myracle's books were the most challenged books of 2009.[5] Her books continue to be challenged in school libraries, usually for scenes of alleged sexuality, homosexuality, or alcohol use. Scholastic Books nearly refused to carry Luv Ya Bunches at its national school book fair events due to the fact that the book features lesbian mothers.[6] Scholastic recanted its initial decision after a large internet outcry.[7]