Anne Cassidy
Anne Cassidy lives in Essex. She was a teacher for twenty years. Her first book was published in 1991 and she has since published over twenty teen novels. She is the author of Looking for JJ, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread Award 2004 and the Carnegie Medal 2005 and won the 2004 Booktrust Teenage Book Award.
As a crime writer, inspiration for Anne's books often comes from news stories of teen crime. Anne is also interested in the philosophical aspect of murder. She says, 'People take great delight in reading Crime Fiction. Why is this? We live in a modern liberal society which abhors the death penalty yet we soak up murder stories in print and on television. So I asked myself the question is it ever right to murder? Are there any circumstances that make murder the preferable option?'
Books
Butterfly Grave
Author: Anne Cassidy
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 12+
Having been separated as young children, Rose and Joshua have recently become close as they try to find out what happened the night their parents disappeared.
Dead Time
Author: Anne Cassidy
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Interest age: 13+
Reading age: 11+
Five years ago, Rose's mother and stepfather mysteriously disappeared. She and her step-brother Josh are determined to discover what happened to them- but their investigations soon lead them into danger.
Looking for JJ
Author: Anne Cassidy
Publisher: Scholastic
Interest age: 13+
Reading age: 13+
When a 10-year-old girl kills her best friend, she is convicted of manslaughter and locked away. Seven years later she is released on licence with a new identity.
Moth Girls
Author: Anne Cassidy
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Interest age: 10-18
Reading age: 10+
This beautifully written thriller has excellent, well-drawn characters. It is a sensitive and multi-layered exploration of friendships and family tensions, including abuse, as well as a mystery that will keep you turning the pages right up to the end.
Thicker Than Water
Author: Anne Cassidy
Publisher: Barrington Stoke
Interest age: 13+
Reading age: 8+
A confident retelling of Steinbeck's classic Of Mice and Men,updated for a modern audience and presented in a super readable/dyslexia-friendly format.