Jenny Torres Sanchez is an American writer of

young adult fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

Biography

Sanchez was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. Her mother is from

Puerto Barrios Puerto Barrios () is a city in Guatemala, located within the Gulf of Honduras. The city is located on Bahia de Amatique. Puerto Barrios is the departmental seat of Izabal department and is the administrative seat of Puerto Barrios municipality. ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, and her father is from

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. Around age three, Sanchez and her family moved to Uniondale on

Long Island 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 ...

, where they lived for seven years before moving to

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

." Sanchez currently lives in Orlando with her husband and children. She received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in English Literature from the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

and attempted to receive a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Creative Writing, but she was rejected four times. Sanchez initially taught

English language arts English studies (or simply, English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries. This is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which is a distin ...

but left her job to help care for her second son, who showed developmental delays at 15 months old. During this time, she began focusing on her writing her first novel, ''The Downside of Being Charlie'', which was published in 2012. Much of Sanchez's writing discusses difficult topics. She has stated that she hopes her books allow people going through troubling times to "help them know that the human condition is one made up of so many things: love, pain, elation, tragedy. And no matter what your situation, there are others out there who probably understand, or empathize, with what someone is going through." Even for readers who cannot relate to the material, Sanchez hopes to "foster sympathy among other readers—who might not have serious difficulties to deal with—for those teens who do."

Awards and honors

Sanchez's books have received multiple awards and honors. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' included the following books on their year-end lists of the best young adult fiction: ''Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia'' (2013); ''The Fall of Innocence'' (2018); and '' We Are Not from Here'' (2020).

Publications

Books

* ''The Downside of Being Charlie'' (2012) * ''Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia'' (2013) * ''Because of the Sun'' (2017) * ''The Fall of Innocence'' (2018) * '' We Are Not From Here'' (2020) * ''With Lots of Love'', illustrated by Andres Ceolin (2022)

Short stories and essays

* "In the Past" in ''Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration'', edited by Rose Brock (2018) * "Is Something Bothering You?" in '' Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America,'' edited by Amy Reed (2018) * "A Small Light" in ''Battle of the Bands'', edited by Lauren Gibaldi and Eric Smith (2021)

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control University of Central Florida alumni 21st-century American women writers Writers from Orlando, Florida Writers from Brooklyn Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Michael L. Printz Award winners American people of Guatemalan descent American people of Salvadoran descent Teachers of English Schoolteachers from Florida