Sweet Sixteen

Libba Bray is an American author known for her imaginative historical and fantasy novels. Born in 1964 in Alabama, Bray developed a passion for writing at a young age. She studied theater and music at Birmingham-Southern College and later earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Bray's breakthrough came with her debut novel, "A Great and Terrible Beauty" (2003), which was set in Victorian England and featured a group of young women with magical abilities. The novel received widespread critical acclaim and launched a successful series of four books. Other notable works by Bray include "The Diviners" (2012), a supernatural thriller set in 1920s New York City; "The Guest List" (2020), a suspenseful thriller set on an isolated island; and "The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart" (2021), a historical novel about a young woman's journey through the Jim Crow South. Bray's novels have received numerous awards, including the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Edgar Award. Her work has been praised for its strong female characters, complex historical settings, and intricate plotting.