Maureen Daly Biography

Maureen Daly (March 15, 1921 – September 25, 2006), was an Irish-born American writer best known for her 1942 novel Seventeenth Summer, which she wrote while still in her teens. Originally published for adults, it described a contemporary teenage romance and drew a large teenage audience. It is regarded by some as the first young adult novel, although the concept of young adult literature was not developed until the 1960s, more than twenty years later.[citation needed] At age 16, Daly also wrote an award-winning short story, "Sixteen", that appeared in many anthologies.