Pen name Morton Rhue; T. S. Rue Name Todd Strasser Occupation Writer, journalist Role Writer | Nationality American Movies The Wave, Drive Me Crazy Subject Literature | |
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Period 1979–present (as writer) Genre Children's fiction, novelizations Education Beloit College, New York University Nominations Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Books The Wave, Give a Boy a Gun, Boot Camp, If I Grow Up, Wish You Were Dead Similar People Ron Jones, Dennis Gansel, Frederick Lau, Peter Thorwarth, Jurgen Vogel | ||
Author Todd Strasser on Writing Suspense
Todd Strasser (born May 5, 1950) is an American writer of more than 140 young-adult and middle grade novels and many short stories and works of non-fiction, some written under the pen names Morton Rhue and T.S. Rue.
Contents
- Author Todd Strasser on Writing Suspense
- Todd strasser author
- Biography
- Themes
- Awards and honors
- References
Todd strasser author
Biography
Strasser was born in New York City. His first novel was Angel Dust Blues (1978). He is the father of two children, and an avid tennis player, skier, and surfer. In Germany, under the pen name Morton Rhue, he is the best-selling author of such novels as Die Welle, Dschihad Online, Ich Knall Euch Ab!, Boot Camp, No Place, No Home, Ghetto Kidz, Asphalt Tribe, and a number of other titles. In 2008, The Wave (the movie version of Die Welle) starring Jürgen Vogel, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to become a box office success in many European countries.
Themes
Strasser often writes about timely themes like nuclear war, Nazism, bullying at schools, homelessness, and school shootings. His novel The Wave, written under the pen name Morton Rhue, is a novelization of the teleplay by Johnny Dawkins for the 1981 television movie The Wave. Both the novel and the television movie are fictionalized accounts of the "Third Wave" teaching experiment by Ron Jones in a Cubberley High School history class in Palo Alto, California. The novel, now credited to Todd Strasser, has been translated into more than a dozen languages and is read in many schools around the world.
His 2014 novel, Fallout, is part memoir and part speculative fiction featuring nuclear war that results from the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. A review in The New York Times called it "Exciting, harrowing ... Superb entertainment ... It thrums along with finely wrought atmosphere and gripping suspense.
Strasser's works have sometimes proved to be controversial. Recently, his novel American Terrorist was withdrawn from publication in the United States after an uproar about it caused by a brief description of the book which appeared on Goodreads. The novel has been published in Germany under the title Dschihad Online.
Strasser is the author of the Time Zone High trilogy, How I Changed My Life, How I Created My Perfect Prom Date, and How I Spent My Last Night on Earth. How I Created My Perfect Prom Date was adapted for the feature film Drive Me Crazy, starring Adrian Grenier and Melissa Joan Hart.
Other novels for young adults include The Accident, which became the television movie Over the Limit, as well as Angel Dust Blues, Friends Till the End, and A Very Touchy Subject. The latter also became a television movie, entitled Can a Guy Say No? Another novel, Workin' For Peanuts, was adapted to a television movie with the same title.
A trilogy of mystery thrillers for older young adult readers includes Wish You Were Dead, Blood on My Hands, and Kill You Last.
Strasser has also written a number of young adult series, including Impact Zone (about surfing), Drift X (about drift car competitions), and Here Comes Heavenly (about a punk nanny with magical powers).
His books for middle-graders include CON-fidence, The Diving Bell, and Abe Lincoln for Class President. His series for middle graders include the 17-book Help! I'm Trapped... collection, as well as the Don't Get Caught, Against the Odds, and Camp Run-A-Muck books. He wrote Is That a Dead Dog in Your Locker?, Is That a Sick Cat in Your Backpack?, Is That a Glow-In-The-Dark Bunny in Your Pillow Case?, Is That an Angry Penguin in Your Gym Bag?, and Is That an Unlucky Leprechaun In Your Lunch?
His Kids' Books series of E-books includes The Kids' Book of Gross Facts and Feats (two volumes), The Kids' Book of Weird Science, The Kids' Book of Stupendously Stupid Stunts, The Kids' Book of Really Dumb American Criminals, The Kids' Book of Amazing Sports Facts and Feats, The Kids' Book of Funny Animal Jokes, and others.
Strasser has published articles and short stories in The New Yorker, Esquire, and The New York Times.
Awards and honors
Fallout (2013)
2014 American Library Association Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
2014 National Council for the Social Studies Notable Tradebook for Young People
2014 International Reading Association Young Adults' Choice
2014 Bank Street Teacher's College Best Children's Books of the Year
No Place (2014)
If I Grow Up (2009)
Boot Camp (2007)
2015 American Library Association Popular Paperback for Young Adults
Can't Get There From Here (2004)
2005 American Library Association Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
2006 International Reading Association Young Adults' Choice
2010 American Library Association Popular Paperback for Young Adults
Give A Boy A Gun (2001)
2006 American Library Association Popular Paperback for Young Adults