Jeannette Eyerly (June 7, 1908 – August 18, 2008) was an American writer of

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

for girls and a columnist. She was a pioneer in dealing with controversial topics in novels for young people. Among the themes that appeared in her books were

teenage pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. This includes those who are legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the period be ...

, alcohol abuse, and drug use. She penned eighteen novels, starting with ''More Than a Summer Love'' in 1962, though she had published many short stories before that. Her 1977 novel, ''He's My Baby, Now'' was the basis for an ABC television movie. She also wrote two books of verse. Born Jeannette Hyde in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

to Robert Cornelius Hyde and Mabel Jeannette Young, she married Frank Eyerly in 1932. Eyerly earned a bachelor's degree in English from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

in 1930. Her papers are archived at the University of Iowa.

Bibliography

*''More Than a Summer Love'' (1962) *''Drop-Out'' (1963) *''Gretchen's Hill'' (1965) *''A Girl Like Me'' (1966) *''The Girl Inside'' (1968) *''Escape from Nowhere'' (1969) *''Radigan Cares'' (1970) *''The Phaedra Complex'' (1971) *''Bonnie Jo, Go Home'' (1973) *''Good-Bye to Budapest'' (1974) *''The Leonardo Touch'' (1976) *''He's My Baby, Now'' (1977) *''See Dave Run'' (1978) *''If I Loved You Wednesday'' (1980) *''Seth and Me and Rebel Make Three'' (1983) *''Angel Baker, Thief'' (1984) *''The Seeing Summer'' (1984) *''Someone to Love Me'' (1987) *''Writing Young Adult Novels'' (1988) *''Alphabet Book for Adults'' (2000) *''Food for Thought'' (2003) Jeannette Eyerly wrote 21 books or short stories.

Awards

* Iowa Author Award from the Public Library of Des Moines Foundation, 2002.Des Moines Register
* Iowa Women's Hall of Fame, 2006.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyerly, Jeannette 1908 births 2008 deaths American centenarians 20th-century American novelists University of Iowa alumni American women short story writers American young adult novelists Writers from Topeka, Kansas American columnists 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American women columnists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women writers of young adult literature American children's writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Women centenarians