Ellen Emerson White

Ms. White's first book, Friends for Life (1983) was published while she was a senior at Tufts University. White grew up in Narragansett, Rhode Island. Many of her fiction novels feature characters who reside in Boston or are from Boston and are fans of the Boston Red Sox (as White is). White now resides in New York City.

In addition to her fiction novels, White has written both sports biographies and historical fiction/biography books. She wrote four stories about the Echo Company in the midst of the Vietnam War under the pseudonym Zack Emerson. White got the name Zack from the name of her shepherd dog. She has also written the Santa Paws series under the pseudonym Nicolas Edwards.

The young adult characters in White's novels are realistic people who struggle with very difficult lives—whether those lives include war, murder, kidnapping, or some other trouble. The focus of all of her books is on overcoming the difficulties and surviving as a better person. None of her characters' live what could be classified an "ordinary" life, but all are relatable to an "ordinary" person.

Elements of White's stories are connected within her works. For example, the character Trudy (President's Daughter series) is from Brighton, the section of Boston where Molly and Patrick (Where Have All the Flowers Gone?) live. Perhaps the most intricate cross-work involvement occurs with the character Susan McAllister/Dowd. In the final book of the President's Daughter series, Meg's JA at Williams College is Susan, whose 'life'is chronicled in Friends For Life, and Life Without Friends. Another example of these connections is the character of nurse Rebecca Phillips from The Echo Company series, who was romantically connected to an army grunt named Michael Jennings. Rebecca's future is hinted at in both "All Emergencies, Ring Super" and the Santa Paws series when a "Dr. Jennings" is mentioned. In addition, most of White's main characters are animal lovers, as is White.

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