Brian Katcher

Brian Katcher writes fiction for teen readers that gives awkward choices room to become moral questions. Playing with Matches follows Missouri teenager Leon Sanders, whose friendship with Melody deepens after he looks beyond the facial scars that have made her a school outcast. When another classmate shows interest in him, Leon discovers how easily indecision can wound both girls. Laurel Leaf published the novel, which earned recognition on an ALA-YALSA best-books list. The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak shifts to an eventful night at a Seattle science-fiction convention. High-achieving Ana and easygoing Zak must find Ana's younger brother after he slips away from a quiz-bowl trip, and their alternating viewpoints turn the search into a comic romance about family pressure and self-knowledge. Katherine Tegen Books published that novel. Katcher's work as a school librarian complements a body of fiction attentive to teenagers who are still learning how to see one another clearly.