Susin Nielsen Books In Order

Publication Order of Degrassi Books

Publication Order of Franny's Feet Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Picture Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Susin Nielsen is a noteworthy Canadian author of young adult and children’s novels. She has won many accolades for her literary work and is considered an excellent storyteller. Nielsen is particularly popular for writing the young adult book called The Reluctant Journal of Henry K Larsen. This book is based on a school-shooting aftermath and helped author Nielsen to win the 2013 Book of the Year Award from the Library Association of Canada. Nielsen started her literary career by writing a few books for the Degrassi series of novels, originally started by Kit Hood and contributed by several other writers like William Pasnak, Ken Roberts, Loretta Castellarin, Kathryn Ellis, Nazneen Sadiq, and Catherine Dunphy. She has written scripts for both the TV series and as well as the book series of this franchise.

Nielsen has even acted in a TV show called Degrassi Junior High as a janitor. After her gaining a considerable amount of recognition for her Degrassi work, Nielsen went on to write for several other TV series like What About Miami?, Braceface, and Heartland. During the time she was involved in writing scripts for these shows, Nielsen wrote and produced 3 children’s books: Mormor Moves In, The Magic Beads, and Hank & Fergus. She came up with her first independent work with the novel called Word Nerd. This novel deals with bullying in school, a theme that Nielsen used again in her latest book. Most of the books written by Nielsen deal with social issues related to children and the ways in which they get affected because of their broken families.

In her 2015 novel, We All Are MAde of Molecules, Nielsen has described the story of 2 step-siblings, who try to get together on good terms with each other. This book was nominated for the Governor General Award, an award that Nielsen has already won for one of her earlier books. Nielsen’s novels have been translated into multiple foreign languages like Dutch, Italian, German, Portuguese, and French. While working with the Degrassi team on the television series, Nielsen’s food was not liked by anyone around. However, everyone was a big fan of her writing skills. Seeing her talent, the makers of the show allowed her to write a total of 16 episodes for the hit television show. Following this opportunity, Nielsen ended up writing for more than 20 television series in Canada. She carried this success in the novel writing career as well.

Over the course of her literary career, author Nielsen has won many prestigious awards, including the Ruth & Sylvia Schultz Award, Young Reader’s Choice Award, Governor General’s Award, etc. Her books have frequently featured in the top books’ list of many literary journals and magazines across the world. Nielsen says that she always wanted to be an author, but got distracted by the idea of acting for a few initial years. But, she didn’t waste much of her time and quickly shifted to writing, first for TV shows and then novels. Whenever any of her novels is about to get published, Nielsen becomes excited and anxious t the same time. Currently, she is happily married and resides in Vancouver, Canada. She likes to spend her spare time with her loving and caring family and her naughty, destructive cats. Whenever Nielsen is not busy with her writing projects, she can be found enjoying bike rides, reading novels, and traveling. She also likes to crack jokes and laugh at them first.

The debut book written by author Susin Nielsen is entitled ‘Word Nerd’. It was released by the Tundra Books in 2008. The central characters mentioned by Nielsen in the book include Irene, Ambrose, Cosmo, and Amanda. Ambrose is introduced into the story as a 12-year-old boy and the son of Irene. He doesn’t have any friends and describes himself as a nerd. Irene is quite overprotective of her son and keeps changing places every two years to prevent Ambrose from landing in any kind of trouble. After a bullying incident at school, in which the bullies mix peanut in Ambrose’s sandwich in spite of being well aware that he is deathly allergic to it, Irene decides to she will homeschool him henceforth. Ambrose seems philosophical about this incident, but his mother does not. When Irene is out for work, Ambrose spends lonely evenings at his house. Later, he comes in contact with Cosmo, the 25-year-old son of the landlord living upstairs.

Cosmo is a drug addict and has recently spent some time in prison for theft. After their acquaintance, Ambrose discovers that the two love Scrabble very much. So, he requests Cosmo to take him to the Scrabble Clun in West Side. After they arrive at the club, Cosmo falls for the club’s director Amanda. He poses as the Big Brother of Ambrose with the intention of impressing Amanda. He even gives Ambrose self-defense lessons and takes him to weekly meetings. It doesn’t take much time for the three of them to form an alliance. For Ambrose, this is the happiest he has ever been in life. The people at the club embrace Ambrose for his love for Scrabble. However, things take an unexpected turn when Irene comes to know about Ambrose’s secret adventure. This book tells the story of a nerd from his own viewpoint that appears quite honest and funny. The readers loved the story for its original content and an excellent set of characters.

Another mind-blowing book penned by Nielsen is called ‘The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen’. It was also published by Tundra Books in 2012. The primary characters depicted in this novel include Henry Kasper Larsen, Jesse Larsen, Scott Marlin, Farley Wong, Alberta, Karen Vargas, Mr. Atapattu, Ambrose, Jerome, and several others. This novel deals with the after effects of a school-shooting incident on the family of the shooter. Henry Larsen’s elder brother takes the gun of his father to school to shoot his bully and kill himself. Henry also accompanies him. After this shocking incident becomes the talk of the town, Henry’s family is forced to leave town. With admission into a new town, Henry tries to keep his past life behind and never let it known to his new friends. The changing environment makes Henry understand grief and also realize the kind of desperation his brother was in because of bullying. No matter how hard he tries to keep these emotions hidden, he is unable to prevent them from showing on his face. This story describes an important phase in the life of someone’s sibling after committing suicide. It made the readers also feel how bullying results in a horrific incident and affects people for the rest of their lives.