Leslie Connor Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Picture Books

Leslie Connor is a renowned American writer of realistic fiction, young adult, middle grade, romance, and contemporary stories. She has penned several widely popular books in her career. They include Crunch, Dead On Town Line, Things You Kiss Goodbye, Waiting for Normal, etc. Leslie has also written a picture book called Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel. All her novels have achieved immense success in different parts of the world and have reached out to readers in huge numbers. Leslie was born in a small farmhouse located near Cleveland, Ohio. When she was in the 4th grade, her family moved to Schenectady, New York, where she got acquainted with other kids in the neighborhood.

Leslie’s father was employed in a company that produced fine printing papers and sold them in different states. Quite often, he used to bring home big, heavy books for her. Leslie used to get pinned to her chair while holding those books in her lap and would love to turn the pages. Instead of reading the books, she used to go through the illustrations and photography and admire the smell of the ink. When she was a kid, she took gymnastics and dancing lessons. Because of these interests, people would often find her in an upside-down position in odd places such as stairways and doors. Leslie would keep her bedroom messy with paper scraps and paint sets, sewing projects and embroidery threads. In school, she was very good at some things and too bad at others. Despite all this, Leslie was able to find her passion.

Leslie joined the college at SUNY, Cobleskill and obtained a degree in farming & agriculture. Later, Leslie studied at Connecticut University and earned another bachelor’s degree in the subject of fine arts. During the initial phase of her writing career, Leslie showed particular interest in children’s books. This was mainly due to the point of view of an illustrator. Then, she started exploring other ideas and realized that her heart and head were full of stories that she should pay careful attention to. Author Leslie claims that the ideas for her stories come from careful observation of the everyday life of others and her own. She likes to write for readers belonging to all age groups.

As of today, Leslie resides in Connecticut. She is happily married and is now a proud mother of three beautiful children. Her kids have now entered their late teens and therefore, she doesn’t have to run after them anymore. This gives her a lot of free time to focus on her future books. During her spare time, Leslie likes to indulge in gardening and bird-feeding. Her family members like to join her in all her activities. Also, she likes to go on trails and long walks in the nearby areas every morning. Usually, her day starts with a hot cup of tea that she believes rejuvenates her and gives her the energy to focus on the stories that she is working on. Leslie is very close to her dogs, who like to sit by her side during her writing sessions. Leslie thinks they give her a much needed moral support. As an enthusiastic person, she likes to try her hand at different things in her free time, including making artisan pizzas, dark chocolate, hot soup, etc. Sometimes, she undertakes bike rides to nearby restaurants to meet her friends and enjoy delicious food with them.

A popular book written by author Leslie Connor is entitled ‘The Things You Kiss Goodbye’. It was released in 2014 by the Katherine Tegen Books publication. Leslie has mentioned the primary characters in this novel as Bettina Vasilis and Brady Cullen. Initially, it is depicted that Brady Cullen is a basketball star. When he asks Bettina Vasilis out for a date, she cannot believe it. Bettina’s happiness knows no bounds when her father gives her permission to go out with Brady. However, Brady begins to show interest in other girls once the school starts again. Bettina wonders what happened to the handsome, sweet boy whom she had started to love. Later, she comes across a charming cowboy in his early twenties. He appears to be everything that Brady was not – caring, gentle, and willing to know the real side of Bettina’s personality.

Bettina thinks that if she breaks up with Brady, she will end up losing her freedom. This would mean that she won’t get enough time to spend in the company of the handsome cowboy that she has recently developed feelings for. In spite of all the ill-treatment at the hands of Brady Cullen, Bettina longs for his scent and wishes to be near him all the time, if only he would understand how much she loves him. Later, a tragedy strikes and Bettina is forced to tell the truth to her family and kiss goodbye to everything she believed she knew about the two men and herself. This heartbreaking, lyrical, and hopeful story is about romance, love’s power, and family.

Another excellent novel penned by the author in her career is called ‘The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle’. It was also published by Katherine Tegen in 2018. The central characters depicted in this novel include Mason Buttle, Calvin Chumsky, Benny Kilmartin, Lieutenant Baird, and a few others. Initially, Mason Buttle is introduced as the sweetest and biggest kid in his class. He has difficulty in reading and writing. His learning disabilities become worse as the days pass because of the grief that he carries in his heart. Around 15 months ago, his best friend named Benny Kilmartin had died in the family orchard of the Buttles. The investigation that follows has a huge impact on Mason’s mind and body. He tells everything honestly yet Lieutenant Baird doesn’t believe any word told by him. This bothers Mason very much and begins to have a deep impact on his learning abilities.

Mason goes on to find a new friend in Calvin Chumsky, who is quite short in height. Both of them face constant bullying from other kids in the neighborhood. To save themselves from the relentless bullying, Calvin and Mason form an underground club. Later, Calvin disappears mysteriously and Mason lands in deep trouble again. His desperation to find out what happened to both Calvin and Benny enables him to start searching on his own. His investigation leads him to something shocking that the police were not able to find. But again, he wonders if others will trust his words and believe what he has found.