Susan Beth Pfeffer, 77, Dies; Wrote Complex Stories for Young Adults
Susan Beth Pfeffer, whose novels for young adult readers delved into sensitive subjects like suicide, sexual harassment and the sheer complexity of growing up in a modern American family, and who found late-career success with a best-selling series set in postapocalyptic Pennsylvania, died on Monday at her home in Monroe, N.Y. She was 77.
Her brother, Alan Pfeffer, said the cause was endometrial cancer.
Ms. Pfeffer was astoundingly prolific, publishing 76 novels in a career of more than 40 years. The first, 'Just Morgan,' appeared in 1970, a year after she graduated from New York University; the last, 'The Shade of the Moon,' was published in 2013.
She wrote across a wide variety of genres, including historical fiction and science fiction dystopias, but certain themes ran through all her works — above all, how families operate, or don't, in the face of challenges, whether quotidian or catastrophic.
She was unafraid to tackle difficult topics: In 'The Year Without Michael' (1987), family and friends try to deal with the disappearance of the title character, who at the book's end has still not returned.
Another book, 'About David' (1980), follows the diary entries of a teenage girl, Lynn, whose friend and neighbor, David, kills his parents and then himself.
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