Neal Shusterman’s novels, intended primarily for a young adult audience, traverse uncommon ground.
The books in his Scythe series tackle the complications brought by the elimination of disease. Shusterman personifies drugs as god-like partiers seeking victims, including the book’s human protagonists. He was awarded the 2015 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for his novel Challenger Deep, about mental illness.
He’ll be at the Fayetteville Public Library next Tuesday as part of the True Lit Festival. Kyle Kellams talked with Shusterman on Zoom while he was speaking in Zurich and asked him about advice he’s made about writing and life: find your comfort zone, then leave it.
