Stolarz, Laurie Faria

PERSONAL:

Born in Salem, MA. Education: Attended Merrimack College; Emerson College, M.F.A. Hobbies and other interests: Vegetarian cooking, holistic nutrition, aromatherapy.

ADDRESSES:

E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer.

WRITINGS:

YOUNG ADULT FICTION

Bleed (stories), Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2006.

"STACEY BROWN" SERIES

Blue Is for Nightmares, Llewellyn (St. Paul, MN), 2003.

White Is for Magic, Llewellyn (St. Paul, MN), 2004.

Silver Is for Secrets, Llewellyn (St. Paul, MN), 2005.

Red Is for Remembrance, Llewellyn (St. Paul, MN), 2005.

Blue Is for Nightmares Collection (four books of the "Stacey Brown" series), Llewellyn (St. Paul, MN), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Laurie Faria Stolarz, who grew up in Salem, Massachusetts, began her first young adult novel, Blue Is for Nightmares, while attending Emerson College. The story quickly took on some of the mystique of "Witch City" and features Stacey Brown, in this book a junior at boarding school who has known for several years that she possesses an unusual gift. Her nightmares portend the dark future, and in one instance a child died because she did not act. Now her best friend is being stalked by someone who is leaving white lilies, the same flower that has been appearing in Stacey's dreams. When another girl is killed, Stacey relies on the folk magic taught to her by her grandmother.

In the fourth book of the series, Red Is for Remembrance, Stacy is attending college and trying to put behind her the sadness of the past. She is not alone in experiencing her premonitions, however. The college president's daughter, Porsha, is having similar nightmares. Kliatt reviewer Stephanie Squicciarini felt that this novel "will surely entice readers who enjoy suspenseful reads or those involving Wicca or the supernatural to seek out the rest of Stacey's stories."

Bleed is a collection of connected stories spanning a single day and featuring ten teens. Threads that run through the tales include body image, self-mutilation, and sex. Kelly leaves Sean behind to meet her pen pal, a man who has just been released from prison after serving time for murdering his girlfriend. A Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote: "Although this collection ends on a note of hope, it is almost unbearably bleak." Sally M. Tibbets reviewed the collection for Teenreads.com, concluding: "The reader is swept along in this masterful plotting of characters as their lives intertwine in most unexpected ways. Laurie Faria Stolarz has captured perfectly the angst and folly of the teenage world."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2006, review of Bleed, p. 853.

Kliatt, November, 2005, Stephanie Squicciarini, review of Red Is for Remembrance, p. 24.

School Library Journal, December, 2003, Kimberly L. Paone, review of Blue Is for Nightmares, p. 161; September, 2006, Sharon Morrison, review of Bleed, p. 219.

ONLINE

Laurie Faria Stolarz Home Page,http://www.lauriestolarz.com (May 17, 2007).

Shanna's Journal,http://shannaswendson.blogspot.com/ (November 2, 2006), Shanna Swendson, "Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Laurie Stolarz" (interview).

Teenreads.com,http://www.teenreads.com/ (May 17, 2007), Sally M. Tibbetts, review of Bleed.