Marijane Meaker (a.k.a. M.E. Kerr) was born in Auburn, New York.  Kerr says that she learned to tell a story from her mother, who was a wonderful gossip.  Her mother would begin by saying, “Wait till you hear this.”

In school, Kerr was a troublemaker.  “My sympathies are usually with the underdog, the outlaw character, the misfit,” she writes.  In her books, Kerr tackles subjects such as homosexuality and AIDS. 

“When I write for young adults I know they’re still wrestling with very important problems like winning and losing, not feeling accepted or accepting, prejudice, love—all the things adults ultimately get hardened to, and forgetful of.  I know my audience hasn’t yet made up their minds about everything, that they’re still vulnerable and open to suggestion and able to change their minds…Give me that kind of an audience any day!”