JJ Johnson

J.J. Johnson is a youth counselor turned young adult novelist. She grew up (with an 80s perm) in a very small town in central New York. She then went to Binghamton University, where she discovered writing --and dancing, and marching, and sitting-in-- for social justice. She graduated with a history degree in 1996.

In 2001, J.J. earned a Master of Education from Harvard University, concentrating on adolescent risk and prevention, with eyes toward mental health and social injustice.

She is the author of THIS GIRL IS DIFFERENT, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, and BELIEVAREXIC (all from Peachtree Publishers). Her books have won numerous honors and have been translated into six languages.

J.J. loves to travel, practice yoga, read, hike, dance, laugh, and eat. She teaches at a Montessori farm preschool and participates in literacy, social justice, and pro-democracy organizations. She lives with her husband, son, and rescue dog in a small brick cottage in Durham, North Carolina. There are lots of flowers and a Little Free Library in her front yard.