Alexandra Flinn (born October 23, 1966) is an American writer of novels for young adults. Her books have appeared on the ''New York Times'' and ''USA Today'' Bestseller lists and have been translated into over twenty foreign languages. Many of her books have made the American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults lists, as well as Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Many of her novels are modernized versions of classic fairy tales.

Personal life

Flinn was born in

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

and grew up in Syosset, New York and Miami, Florida. At the age of five, she started thinking about being a writer and submitted early efforts to magazines like '' Highlights'', which did not publish them. At twelve, she moved to

Palmetto Bay, Florida Palmetto Bay is a suburban incorporated village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Palmetto Bay includes two neighborhoods that were former census-designated places, Cutler and East Perrine. The village is part of the Miami metropo ...

, a suburb of Miami, where she still lives. She struggled to make friends at her new school, and she has said that this experience inspired much of her writing for young adults, particularly her book, ''Breaking Point.'' She graduated from Miami-Palmetto High School and was in a performing arts program called PAVAC (Performing And Visual Arts Center), which inspired some of her book, ''Diva.'' She graduated from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

with a degree in vocal performance (opera), then went to law school at

Nova Southeastern University Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a Private university, private research university in Florida with its main campus in Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida, Davie, Florida, United States. The university consists of 14 colleges, offering over ...

. She practiced law for 10 years before quitting her day job to devote herself full-time to writing, following the acceptance of her third book.

Books

*''Breathing Underwater'' (2001), chosen as a Top 10

ALA Best Books for Young Adults The American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library associatio ...

and won the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award *''Breaking Point'' (2002), chosen as a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers *''Nothing to Lose'' (2004), chosen as a Booklist Top 10 Youth Mystery, American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, and an American Library Association Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers *''Fade to Black'' (2005) *''Diva'' (2006), a sequel to ''Breathing Underwater'' *''A Kiss in Time'' (2009), a modern version of Sleeping Beauty *''Cloaked'' (2011), based upon several fairy tales, including

The Frog Prince "The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" (, literally "The Frog King or the Iron Henry") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in Grimms' Fairy Tales, ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 1). Traditionally, it is the fir ...

, The Shoemaker and the Elves, and

The Six Swans "The Six Swans" () is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' in 1812 (KHM 49). It is of Aarne–Thompson type 451 ("The Maiden Who Seeks Her Brothers"), commonly found throughout Europe. Other tales of th ...

*''Towering'' (2013), a retelling of Rapunzel *''Girls of July'' (2019)

Kendra Chronicles series

*'' Beastly'' (2007), won the Detroit Public Library's Author Day Award and was a #1 New York Times bestseller after being adapted into a 2011 film *''Beastly: Lindy's Diary'' (2012), an original e-book and also published as part of a special edition of ''Beastly'' *''Bewitching'' (2012), a retelling of

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

, with mini-stories about

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

The Princess and the Pea "The Princess and the Pea" () is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess who is tested to become the wife to a lonely prince. The tale was first published with three others by Andersen in a cheap booklet on 8 May 18 ...

, and

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...

*''Mirrored'' (2015), a retelling of

Snow White "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

*''Beheld'' (2017), based upon several fairy tales, including

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" () is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th-century European Fable, folk tales. It was later retold in the 19th-century by the Broth ...

Rumpelstiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about an imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a woman's firstborn child. Plot I ...

, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, and The Ugly Duckling

References

External links

Official blog
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flinn, Alex 1966 births American children's writers American young adult novelists 21st-century American novelists Living people People from Syosset, New York American women novelists American women children's writers People from Palmetto Bay, Florida Novelists from Florida University of Miami Frost School of Music alumni Nova Southeastern University alumni 21st-century American women writers American women writers of young adult literature Writers from Glen Cove, New York Novelists from New York (state) American women science fiction and fantasy writers