Have Melody Visit

My teenage years were the hardest years of my life, and maybe that’s why I’m so passionate about writing books for young adults. As a visiting author, I can speak on a variety of subjects, including but not limited to:

  • Writing from the heart, and how my troubled childhood and teenage years influenced the writing of What We Wish For and A Work of Art
  • My writing life as a teen, my writing life now, and my journey to publication
  • A discussion of the famous artwork that appears in A Work of Art
  • Writing lessons and/or workshops on a variety of creative writing topics

For further educator resources, please see my Blog, where I present a variety of mini writing lessons. You can also access discussion guides for my books here.

My author visit fees are very competitive. If you’re interested in having me visit your high school, college, or book group, please contact me and I’ll be happy to answer any questions

"Maysonet's novel and its unreliable narrator Tera will make a better human being out of any reader...you'll want to stay with Tera and watch her reclaim her art and her life. Absolutely one of the best dark contemporary novels of 2015."YA Books Central
"This debut novel is a powerful story showing how a person can recreate memories to make sense of childhood until something happens to make that person face the truth.... The story may help those dealing with a crisis in their own lives."VOYA Magazine
"Whatever Melody Maysonet wants to write next, I'm in. She's an author I can trust to make me hurt while I read and open my eyes a little more to the world around me."YA Books Central
"Beautifully drawn, convincingly flawed characters create a world in which Tera's own childhood slowly moves from remembered happiness to dark understanding. This debut novel skillfully explores the consequences of self-deception, relationships, and the lengths we go to please the people we love."--Booklist
"This story of a teen's life with a single mom fighting addiction is often harsh and tense, but it remains honest, believable, and quite engaging."--School Library Journal (Starred Review)
"This story of a teen's life with a single mom fighting addiction is often harsh and tense, but it remains honest, believable, and quite engaging." --School Library Journal (starred review)
"Maysonet depicts the stark impact of addiction with compassion, emphasizing the toll it takes on sufferers and their loved ones alike. Layla's internal struggles with guilt and self-loathing offer a realistic glimpse into the emotional turmoil of those affected by substance abuse and poverty...The book's strengths lie in its rich character development and poignant narrative. Simultaneously tragic and hopeful and consistently authentic."--Kirkus Reviews
"[Maysonet's] first-person narrative is engaging, and the emotions generated are vivid...Convincing and satisfying."--Booklist
"Maysonet's...prose is unflinching as it illuminates one girl's traumatic experience with deeply felt compassion and brutal honesty... An important book about endings, beginnings and the choice to move on."-Kirkus Reviews (Starred)
"Melody Maysonet’s What We Wish For is a testament to the horrors of addiction, the pain of betrayal, the power of tenacity, and the saving grace of friendship. It is brutal and enraging and heartbreaking and a little bit funny; and in the end, small-t triumphant. When you close the back cover, you will simply nod your head, knowing you have read something capital-T True."Chris Crutcher, author of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Whale Talk, and Deadline
This story of a teen’s life with a single mom fighting addiction is often harsh and tense, but it remains honest, believable, and quite engaging.School Library Journal, starred review