Joseph Monninger Books In Order

Publication Order of Journey Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Stay Alive Books

Publication Order of Dragged from Under Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Joseph Monninger is a fiction and young adult author who has published novels for adults and teens and three nonfiction works. Monninger was brought up in Westfield, New Jersey and got a football scholarship to Temple University. He would later go to Burkina Faso then named Upper Volta from 1975 to 1977, where he volunteered in the Peace Corps. For several years, he has fly fished the Wind River Range in Wyoming and in New Zealand as he has been a certified New Hampshire Fishing Guide. As an outdoorsy guy, he has been a regular participant in Sled Dog sprint races in New England and operated a sled dog business in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He currently lives with his family in a customized barn near the Baker River in New Hampshire.

He got his first start when he came third in the “Redbook Short Story” contest in 1978 and got an agent who convinced a publisher to adapt his story. The story titled “A Slice of It” was what was later made into “The Family Man” that Monninger published with Scribner/Atheneum. He would later publish more novels with Scribner such as “The Summer Hunt,” “Second Season,” “New Jersey.” Joseph also published a novel about witchcraft and Africa with Simon and Schuster that he titled “The Viper Tree.” He would also sell a nonfiction proposal to Chronicle Books titled “Home Waters,” about his golden retriever that got sick. The same publishing house also bought the rights to “A Barn in New England.” The book was a guide about renovating a barn that he wrote when he decided to touch up the barn which he currently lives in with Wendy his wife and Justin their son. During this time, he also wrote articles for the likes of Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated and American Heritage. He would also get some of his short fiction published in Ellery Queen and other small journals. Monninger’s young adult novel “Baby” a guide on dog sledding made the top ten list of YALSA novels for 2008.

Joseph Monninger does write on all manner of topics from horse sledding, to romance, to friendships, hope, faith, and family. However he does like to make journey narratives in his writing and this is best exemplified by the “Journey Trilogy.” His first novel in the Trilogy was “Hippie Chick” that shows just how unique Monninger is in the telling of his stories. Instead of telling of the desperate and frightening attempts to hang on and beat nature, he focuses on the sensitive and mysterious side of nature. Lolly’s story is about a deep connection to the manatee which rescue her from certain death by drowning. We get a peek into life changing even if emotional life of Lolly. “Wish” the second novel of the trilogy is the coming to age story of Tommy, a boy that has been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. In this story, Joseph tells an inspirational story of a sister that is determined to ensure that his brother has his dream life even if illness is threatening to cut short his life. By seeking to help her brother, she discovers that she also has her own wishes which may just be fulfilled. “Finding Somewhere” the third novel of the Trilogy by Joseph Monninger is about Delores and Hattie, two girls that decide to steal a horse and go on an adventure. It tells of their relationship and what led to their decision to go away while also going deep into facts about horses, their feeding and the love and care of the animals. While he writes about the relationship of the girls with a horse, the novel is also a coming to age story.

Joseph Monninger’s “Hippie Chick” is the story of an independent-minded fifteen-year-old named Lolly Emmerson. She decides to set out for a quiet evening in the Florida Keys on a sailboat. On the advice of a neighbor, she has left her mother a note saying where she has gone and when she will be back. She is an experienced sailor and has done this countless times. But things conspire against her this time round as she hits some old sailing wreckage and her sailboat overturns. Now with only her life vest she is dumped into the cold and dangerous waters of the Keys. She struggles for hours trying to get back on the boat but just when she feels a bump on her leg that she thinks is a bull shark, she manages to get back onto the boat. But she is so weak from her struggles in the water that she loses her hold on the boat and falls back into the water. She is now certain that all is lost as she is sure she does not have the energy to get back on the boat. But then three manatees arrive on the scene and one of them nudges her to cling onto him as they head back to a tiny mangrove bay which is their feeding area. Once she is found and rescued, she credits her survival to the friendly creatures but finds it weird to relate the bizarre incident to interested friends and reporters.

“Wish” is an amazing inspirational novel about a boy named Timmy that has been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. The boy has a sister named Bee who loves him a lot and is devastated once she learns that the disease is likely to significantly shorten his life. Tommy has a dream of diving with great sharks and Bee will do everything in her power to make this dream come true. Together with their mother, they travel to San Francisco where Tommy can get to have his dream. But things do not go as planned but Tommy and Bee find a shark attack survivor who promises to help them in their quest. He takes Tommy into the surf but Tommy has never done it before and is a poor swimmer, which puts his life in great danger. He gets knocked off of his board by a huge wave and unconscious, has to be taken back to shore on the back of a jetski. While Bee is taking him back to shore on her jetski she spies a huge great white circling them but manages to get back to land. It is quite an interesting story as Tommy, at last, has hope of swimming with the great white while Bee his sister also learns that she has her own wishes she never knew about.

Joseph Monningers “Finding Somewhere” is a novel about Hattie and her friend Delores. The two had met in a GED class, where they had become fast friends that hung out together a lot. They decide to rescue the horse Speed, who they believe needs to rest after being a workhorse all his life. Hattie feels sorry for him and steals him so that he can have at least a moment to be free and run across pasture. The two friends load up the horse and set off on an adventure across the country where they encounter everything from Wisconsin drivers with cheese looking hats, jerks on ATV’s, an old lady that wants the horse for herself, and kind waitresses at overnight stops. While Hattie is going away only for a few days, Delores wants a few weeks or even months exploring the country as her mother just got a new boyfriend. She now has no time for her daughter and has asked her to leave though she has no idea where she is going. Hattie has always been the true friend Delores could lean on when she was having her bad moments that even brought thoughts of suicide. However, the one thing the horse Speed and Delores have in common is a desire to roam and get away from people who have treated them badly.